House passes hiring reform bill for seasonal workers

Congress

House passes hiring reform bill for seasonal workers

The House on Tuesday passed a bill making it easier for part-time federal land management employees to become full-time.

Jory Heckman@jheckmanWFED

July 8, 2015 11:33 am

1 min read

The House just passed a bill making it easier for part-time federal land management employees to become full-time.

The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (H.R. 1531), passed unanimously in the House by a voice vote on Tuesday, would provide a pathway for temporary seasonal employees at land management agencies to receive merit promotions for full-time positions. Under the current system, only permanent employees can be considered for internal merit promotions.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) sponsored the bill, which passed the Oversight and Government Reform committee in March before arriving on the floor of the House. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has introduced a similar bill.

The bill would impact nearly 10,000 seasonal employees at the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and a slew of agencies under the Department of the Interior — the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Reclamation.

“It’s simply unfair, after years of employment, the temporary employee applying for permanent position jobs is no better off than someone off the street applying for a job,” Connolly said on the House floor before the vote.

Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and Rob Bishop (R-Utah) co-sponsored the bill.