US. Department of Justice l-Vru?fungnm. DC. 20530 February 24, 2017 MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS AND UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS FROM: Lee J. Lofthus Assistant Attorney General for Administration SUBJECT: Implementation of Departmental Hiring Freeze Earlier today, the Attorney General issued guidance, pursuant to the Presidential Hiring Freeze Memorandum, exempting the Department?s national security and public safety responsibilities from the freeze. This guidance provides further detail regarding the Attorney General?s instructions. A. National Security and Public Safety: Categorical Exemptions The following components may continue to staff their organizations pursuant to the Attorney General?s exemption for critical national security and public safety functions, as follows: the FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, US. Attorneys of?ces (speci?cally handling criminal and national security matters, and mission support positions for those functions), NSD, the Civil Rights Division?s Criminal Section, OCDETF, CRM (not including the Of?ce of International Affairs, OPDAT, and ICITAP), EOIR, the Civil Division?s Of?ce of Immigration Litigation and the Federal Programs Branch (speci?cally the Federal Programs Branch national security related positions only), ENRD (speci?cally, land condemnation attorneys), Interpol (US National Central Bureau), and JIST cybersecurity positions. Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons institutions and the Grand Prairie institutional support location may back?ll departures from any position that was encumbered as of January 22, 2017. Other Bureau of Prisons hiring is subject to the exemption process in Section B. US. Attorneys of?ce civil functions and EOUSA are subject to the exemption process in Section B. The Of?ces of the Solicitor General, Legal Policy, and Legal Counsel may back?ll departures from any national security or public safety positions that are encumbered as of this date. Law enforcement bureau internal leadership transfer/rotational programs, career board promotions, and similar internal assignments may continue. Memorandum for Heads of Department Components and United States Attorneys Subject: Implementation of Departmental Hiring Freeze Page 2 B. Exemption Process for Vacancies in Individual Positions Components and of?ces not listed in Section A may request exemptions in two categories as described below. All such requests must be submitted by the component, include a justi?cation and be sent to the MD Deputy Assistant Attorney General/Controller: 1. Back?ll-only requests for positions related to national security and public safety must be approved by the Acting Deputy Attorney General. Back?ll-only requests for other positions require approval of the Acting Deputy Attorney General and the Director of the Of?ce of Personnel Management. It is expected that individual exemption requests will be limited in number. Justi?cations should include a description of the need, why the function cannot be temporarily performed by other staff, and the consequences of leaving the job un?lled. C. Other Conditions 1. All hiring pursuant to the Attorney General?s guidance and this instruction must be done within a component?s available funding. All conditions of Hiring Freeze memoranda M-l7-l7 and M-l7-18 still apply, except where further limited by Department guidance herein. Exemption requests for offers made prior to January 22, 2017, but where the individual is not yet onboard, should follow the process in Section B. Filling of PAS, non-career SES, and Schedule positions may continue. The Attorney General Honors Program (HP) hiring may continue only for organizations in Section A above, within those terms. Other HP hiring must be submitted through the Section exemption process. Hiring in the Working Capital Fund is frozen and subject to the exemption process in Section B. Similarly, since the Presidential Memorandum applied the freeze to civilian positions regardless of funding source, appropriated or other, non- appropriated activities (AFF, Federal Prison Industries Central Of?ce, Debt Collection, etc.) are also subject to Section B. Career ladder promotions are not subject to the freeze. For Section hiring, internal hires (including non-competitive reassignments) within a component without back?ll are permitted where they support reallocations of staff to priority functions, consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2017. Such hires must not result in any net new staf?ng level, and the positions being Memorandum for Heads of Department Components and United States Attorneys Subject: Implementation of Departmental Hiring Freeze Page 3 vacated must be attrited. Non-competitive reassignments across components are subject to the exemption process under Section Br 3. Other personnel actions that are not impacted by the freeze include non-competitive temporary promotions not to exceed 120 days. details, within-grade increases, payroll corrections, retirements, voluntary early retirements, voluntary separation incentive payments, and disciplinary/adverse actions. Reassignments may be excepted. but should be consistent with the Attorney General's goals of identifying operational efficiencies. Please consult JMD Human Resources for guidance regarding such reassigrunents. There may be hiring circumstances required or aerected by external entities, the Merit Systems Protection Board. the Equal Opportunity Commission, etc. Similarly, there may be hiring actions resulting from formal Reemployment Priority List actions. Consult with JMD Human Resources for guidance in these special circumstances. This guidance will be in effect until further notice. Upon receipt ofthe expected 0MB 90-day Plan guidance regarding long-tenn agency hiring, and/or other 0MB guidance on agency operations, this guidance may be modified in whole or part. For questions regarding the exemption rocess lease call Jolene Lauria, Deputy Assistant Attorney General/Controller, on i From: "Lofthus, LeeJ Date: April 14, 2017 at 10:05:58 AM EDT To: "Wilkinson, Monty "Blanco, Kenneth", "McFadden, Trevor N. Subject: Hiring Freeze for USA and Criminal Division To Director, EOUSA, U.S. Attorneys, and AAG, Criminal Division: As part of the President's March 13, 2017 E0 to reorganize the Executive Branch, agencies have been tasked to refocus resources on their highest priority needs. On April 12th, OMB Memorandum17-22 amplified that goal, directing agencies to focus their workforce on the most critical needs facing our citizens. As you know, the hiring freeze remains in force as we prepare our restructuring and workforce plans. In orderto focus our hiring on our most priority needs, we are temporarily extending the hiring freeze at U.S. Attorneys' offices and Criminal Division to all positions. That is, U.S. Attorneys' offices and the Criminal Division must only hire for critical positions, and for all such hires you must first seek approval from the Deputy Attorney General. Thank you, Lee L. Lee]. Lofthus Assistant Attorney General for Administration U.S. Department ofjustice 950 Avenue NW Washington DC 20530