This act requires federal agencies to use technical assessments to fill most positions in the competitive service. Under the act, a technical assessment is a tool relevant and specific to a position for which it is developed that allows for the demonstration of job-related skills, abilities, knowledge, and competencies. A technical assessment must be based upon a job analysis and may not solely or principally rely upon a self-assessment from an automated examination.
(Sec. 3) Under the act, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must develop and implement a plan for transitioning to using technical assessments for hiring into competitive service positions unless the hiring agency certifies that it is impracticable. No later than 18 months after the act's enactment, OPM must provide Congress with the plan for federal agencies to transition to the use of technical assessments. The plan must be implemented within three years after the act's enactment.
In the three-year period following the bill's enactment, executive agencies must preference the use of technical assessments for hiring into competitive service positions to the maximum extent practicable. An agency that determines that the use of a technical assessment is impracticable must describe its rationale for using an alternative assessment in the applicable job posting.
The act authorizes agencies to identify subject matter experts (SMEs) and agency talent teams to provide hiring support to the agency. SMEs in the job field of a given position may develop position-specific assessments that allow for an applicant to demonstrate job-related technical skills, abilities, and knowledge relevant to the position. OPM may establish a federal talent team to provide support to agency talent teams.
No later than one year after the act's enactment, OPM must study and report to Congress regarding the feasibility of examining agencies sharing technical assessments and the development of an online platform where agencies can share and customize technical assessments.
(Sec. 4) The act requires OPM to conduct a review of examinations for positions in the competitive service for which agencies have established a minimum educational requirement because the position is of a scientific, technical, or professional nature. OPM must determine whether such requirements are justified based on data, evidence, and other relevant information and provide Congress with recommendations to amend the hiring practices in accordance with the review's findings. The review must be conducted in consultation with appropriate agencies, employee representatives, external experts, and other relevant stakeholders. The report shall be provided within one year after the act's enactment.
(Sec. 5) OPM must publish on a public-facing website and submit to Congress a report examining agencies' progress and any significant difficulties in implementing the act's requirements. The first report must be provided within one year after the act's enactment and subsequent reports provided annually until the fifth publication and submission of the report to Congress.
OPM must also publish on a public facing website and submit to Congress an annual report of positions in the competitive service for which an examining agency examined applicants during the applicable period (limited to positions for which hiring is complete). The data must be broken down by applicant demographic indicators to facilitate direct comparisons to data available as of October 1, 2020, as a baseline.
(Sec. 6) No later than three years after the act's enactment, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) must provide Congress with a report that assesses the implementation of the act, assesses changes to the hiring process for the competitive service, and makes recommendations to improve the hiring process for the competitive service.
(Sec. 7) No later than one year after the act's enactment, OPM shall evaluate and revise, as appropriate to conform with the act, government-wide systems of records specified in the act. OPM must notify Congress of any revisions.
