Seasonal temps exempt from Forest Service hiring freeze

Job seekers who want to work for the Forest Service as seasonal employees received some good news on February 14, when the agency announced that their hiring freeze had been lifted. In January it was unclear as to whether the Forest Service would be able to hire summer seasonal employees due to President’s Trump’s federal hiring freeze.

The president issued a Presidential Memorandum titled, “Hiring Freeze” on Jan. 23 which applied to all executive branch agencies. On Jan. 31, a memo was released which listed exemptions but it wasn’t clear as to whether they included seasonal workers. Forest Service positions include trail maintenance workers, engineers, as well as backcountry rangers. Other positions exempted include wildland firefighters and some law enforcement positions.

The Northwest Region typically hires 700-800 seasonal temporaries for 85 different positions. Carole Johnson, Superior District Ranger said they hire two to three additional trail maintenance, recreational, and timber crew positions, in additional to returning seasonal people. She said the initial application process began in early January. Current openings are posted on USAjobs.gov and temp positions are open from Feb. 16-22.

The Jan. 31 memo stated that the freeze “applies to all Executive departments and agencies regardless of the sources of their operational and programmatic funding and to all types of Federal civilian appointments, regardless of the length of the appointment.”

It also stated that no vacant positions as of Jan. 22, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. Within 90 days of the memo, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, along with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, said they would recommend a long-term plan to, “to reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce through attrition. The hiring freeze will expire upon implementation of the Office of Management and Budget plan.”

Additional information regarding the hire freeze can be found at https://www.chcoc.gov/content/federal-civilian-hiring-freeze-frequently-asked-questions.