Biden administration launches emergency hiring efforts to support hurricane relief efforts

The Biden administration is granting agencies involved in responding to recent hurricanes emergency authority to bypass normal hiring procedures to bring on staff that support relief efforts. 

The employees would serve in temporary positions for up to two years, the Office of Personnel Management said on Friday in a memorandum to agency heads, and serve in “excepted service” positions rather than the normal competitive service roles that populate most of the civilian federal workforce. They will focus on Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but the roles are open to any positions related to the 2024 hurricane season. 

“Agencies may have an immediate need to hire additional staff,” acting OPM Director Robert Shriber said, for “individuals who will be directly involved with the recovery and relief efforts” from the current hurricane season. 

The Biden administration has deployed nearly 8,000 federal personnel in response to Helene and Milton, who remain on the ground working on relief efforts. Many of those employees are currently based in North Carolina or Florida, though several other states are receiving federal assistance. The administration has so far approved $1.8 billion in assistance for hurricane recovery. 

Federal employees deployed in Helene and Milton response have been subject to a barrage of threats, largely resulting from misinformation that has spread since the storms hit. Some Federal Emergency Management Agency staff were recently forced to pause a portion of their work due to an elevated threat that eventually led to the arrest of an armed man. 

FEMA, which has ramped up its hiring efforts in recent years after struggling with workforce shortfalls, has said it has the staff it requires to carry out its mission. It has tapped into the Surge Capacity Force, a cadre of federal employees who sign up to deploy in recovery efforts in emergency situations, to assist with its work. While FEMA is coordinating the federal response, agencies throughout government are involved in the efforts. The Internal Revenue Service, for example, recently announced it was providing more than 1,000 employees to help staff FEMA disaster relief call lines for hurricane victims looking for federal relief. 

While new hires under the authority will still be subjected to veterans’ preference, agencies can quickly appoint them without going through the normal hurdles that accompany normal federal hiring. OPM issued similar emergency hiring authorities during 2017 hurricane season when several severe storms hit in rapid succession, and during other crises such as the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Agencies are not required to publicly advertise their openings, but OPM encouraged them to “conduct appropriate recruiting” to meet technical needs. 

The roles are excluded from normal civil service procedures and the employees are not eligible to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, life insurance or federal retirement. They may be entitled to health insurance and annual and sick leave if they serve for more than 90 days.