What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to review and update job classification and qualification standards for federal government positions. The bill aims to reduce education requirements for federal jobs where education is not legally necessary and to improve how federal agencies evaluate job applicants.
Who It Affects
Federal agencies that hire people for competitive service positions (standard federal government jobs). People applying for federal government jobs. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Key Provisions
- The Director must review and revise all job classification and qualification standards for competitive service positions, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and agency heads (Sec. 3).
- An agency can only require a minimum education qualification if that same education requirement is legally required for the same type of job in the state or locality where the job is located (Sec. 3).
- Agencies must not rely solely on an applicant's education when evaluating whether the applicant has the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the job (Sec. 4).
- Agencies must develop assessment methods to evaluate applicants that do not depend only on education and must publish these methods in their human resources manual (Sec. 4).
- Job postings must be based on specific skills and competencies needed for the position rather than education requirements alone (Sec. 3).
What Changes
Federal agencies must update how they write job descriptions and decide who qualifies for positions. Agencies cannot automatically require job applicants to have a college degree or other education unless that education is legally required for similar jobs in the same area. Agencies must evaluate applicants using methods other than just looking at their education background. These changes must be made available to the public within 120 days and take effect within 180 days after the law is enacted.
Important Definitions
- Competitive service: Standard federal government jobs filled through a competitive hiring process.
- Education: Completion or attainment of a college degree or other credential from a college or university.
- Qualification standards: The minimum requirements for education, training, and experience that an applicant needs to likely perform well in a job.
- Personnel assessment: A method of collecting information about a person to make a hiring, promotion, or other employment decision.
- Selection decision: Decisions about hiring, placement, promotion, referral, keeping someone in a job, or entry into apprenticeships, training programs, or career development programs.
Effective Date
Changes to job classification and qualification standards must be made available to the public not later than 120 days after the law is enacted. The changes must take effect not later than 180 days after the law is enacted. Agencies must implement new assessment practices not later than 180 days after the law is enacted.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 383
To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to revise
job classification and qualification standards for positions in the competi-
tive service regarding educational requirements for those positions, and
for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. BUDD) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment to revise job classification and qualification stand-
ards for positions in the competitive service regarding
educational requirements for those positions, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Skills Act of
4
2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
6
In this Act—
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•S 383 IS
(1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an agency that
1
appoints individuals to positions in the competitive
2
service;
3
(2) the term ‘‘competitive service’’ has the
4
meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5,
5
United States Code;
6
(3) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
7
the Office of Personnel Management;
8
(4) the term ‘‘education’’ means the completion
9
or attainment of a postsecondary degree or other
10
credential at an institution of higher education (as
11
defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act
12
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002));
13
(5) the term ‘‘personnel assessment’’ means a
14
method of collecting information regarding an indi-
15
vidual for the purposes of making a selection deci-
16
sion with respect to the individual;
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(6) the term ‘‘qualification standards’’ means
18
the minimum requirements with respect to edu-
19
cation, training, and experience that an applicant for
20
employment would need to possess in order to make
21
it likely that the applicant would perform satisfac-
22
torily in the position or occupational series that is
23
the subject of the application for employment; and
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•S 383 IS
(7) the term ‘‘selection decision’’ includes a de-
1
cision regarding an individual with respect to—
2
(A) appointment;
3
(B) placement;
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(C) promotion;
5
(D) referral;
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(E) retention; or
7
(F) entry into a program leading to career
8
advancement, such as an apprenticeship pro-
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gram, a training program, or a career develop-
10
ment program.
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SEC. 3. REVISION OF JOB CLASSIFICATION AND QUALI-
12
FICATION STANDARDS.
13
(a) REVIEW.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the require-
15
ments of this section, the Director, in consultation
16
with the Director of the Office of Management and
17
Budget and the head of each agency, shall review
18
and revise all job classification and qualification
19
standards for positions in the competitive service, as
20
necessary.
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(2) PUBLICATION; EFFECTIVE DATE.—With re-
22
spect to any change to a job classification or quali-
23
fication standard made under paragraph (1)—
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•S 383 IS
(A) the Director shall, not later than 120
1
days after the date of enactment of this Act,
2
make that change available to the public; and
3
(B) the change shall take effect not later
4
than 180 days after the date of enactment of
5
this Act.
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(b) EDUCATION REQUIREMENT.—The head of an
7
agency may prescribe a minimum requirement with re-
8
spect to education for a position in the competitive service
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only if a minimum qualification with respect to education
10
is legally required to perform the duties of a comparable
11
position in the State or locality where those duties are to
12
be performed.
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(c) CONSIDERATION
OF EDUCATION.—Unless the
14
head of an agency is determining the satisfaction of a le-
15
gally required minimum requirement with respect to edu-
16
cation for an applicant for employment with the agency,
17
the agency head may consider the education of the appli-
18
cant in determining the satisfaction by the applicant of
19
another minimum qualification only if the education of the
20
applicant directly reflects the competencies necessary to
21
satisfy that qualification and perform the duties of the po-
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sition.
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(d) POSITION LISTING.—A position description and
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job posting published by an agency for a position in the
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•S 383 IS
competitive service shall be based on the specific skills and
1
competencies required to perform that position, as estab-
2
lished in the position classifications and qualification
3
standards of the Office of Personnel Management.
4
SEC. 4. IMPROVING THE USE OF ASSESSMENTS IN THE FED-
5
ERAL HIRING PROCESS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall work with the
7
head of each agency to ensure that, not later than 180
8
days after the date of enactment of this Act, for a position
9
in the competitive service, the head of an agency assesses
10
an applicant for employment in a manner that does not
11
rely solely on the education of the applicant to determine
12
the extent to which the applicant possesses relevant knowl-
13
edge, skills, competencies, and abilities for the position.
14
(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to the as-
15
sessment practices described in subsection (a)—
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(1) the head of each agency shall develop or
17
identify those assessment practices; and
18
(2) those assessment practices—
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(A) may not be substantively equivalent to
20
competencies only attainable through education;
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and
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(B) shall be published by the applicable
23
agency in the human resources manual of the
24
agency.
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•S 383 IS
(c) CONSIDERATION OF SELF-EVALUATION.—
1
(1) IN GENERAL.—In assessing an applicant for
2
employment—
3
(A) the head of an agency may not rely
4
solely on the self-evaluation of the stated abili-
5
ties of the applicant; and
6
(B) the applicant shall fulfill other assess-
7
ment standards in order to be certified for con-
8
sideration, as established by the Chief Human
9
Capital Officer of the applicable agency (or an
10
equivalent official).
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(2) PUBLICATION.—The standards described in
12
paragraph (1)(B) shall be published in the human
13
resources manual of the applicable agency.
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(d) EVALUATION.—The head of each agency shall
15
continually evaluate the effectiveness of different assess-
16
ment strategies to promote and protect the quality and
17
integrity of the appointment processes of the agency,
18
which shall be reviewed by the Chief Human Capital Offi-
19
cer of the agency (or an equivalent official), who shall
20
make any necessary changes or take any necessary reme-
21
dial actions concurrent with the review.
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SEC. 5. APPLICATION.
23
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act may be con-
24
strued to impair or otherwise affect—
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•S 383 IS
(1) the authority granted by law to an executive
1
department or agency, or the head thereof; or
2
(2) the functions of the Director of the Office
3
of Management and Budget relating to budgetary,
4
administrative, or legislative proposals.
5
(b) RIGHTS OR BENEFITS.—This Act is not intended
6
to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive
7
or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party
8
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or
9
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
10
person.
11
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
12
Nothing in this Act may be construed to eliminate
13
or otherwise affect the student loan forgiveness or student
14
loan cancellation options available to borrowers under
15
Federal law, as such options are in effect on the day before
16
the date of enactment of this Act.
17
Æ
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