[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 218 (Friday, November 13, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 58533-58536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27441]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 218 / Friday, November 13, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 58533]]

                Executive Order 13518 of November 9, 2009

                
Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government

                By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
                the laws of the United States of America, including 
                section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, I 
                hereby order as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. Veterans have served and sacrificed 
                in defense of our Nation. When they complete their 
                service, we must do everything in our power to assist 
                them in re-entering civilian life and finding 
                employment. Government as well as private employers 
                should play a prominent role in helping veterans who 
                may be struggling to find jobs. As one of the Nation's 
                leading employers, the Federal Government is in need of 
                highly skilled individuals to meet agency staffing 
                needs and to support mission objectives. Our veterans, 
                who have benefited from training and development during 
                their military service, possess a wide variety of 
                skills and experiences, as well as the motivation for 
                public service, that will help fulfill Federal 
                agencies' staffing needs. It is therefore the policy of 
                my Administration to enhance recruitment of and promote 
                employment opportunities for veterans within the 
                executive branch, consistent with merit system 
                principles and veterans' preferences prescribed by law. 
                The Federal Government will thereby help lead by 
                example in promoting veterans' employment.

                Sec. 2. Council on Veterans Employment. There is hereby 
                established an interagency Council on Veterans 
                Employment (Council), to be co-chaired by the 
                Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs. The Director 
                of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shall serve 
                as Vice Chair of the Council.

                (a) Mission and Function of the Council. The Council 
                shall:

(i) advise and assist the President and the Director of OPM in establishing 
a coordinated Government-wide effort to increase the number of veterans 
employed by the Federal Government by enhancing recruitment and training;

(ii) serve as a national forum for promoting veterans' employment 
opportunities in the executive branch; and

(iii) establish performance measures to assess the effectiveness of, and 
submit an annual report to the President on the status of, the Veterans 
Employment Initiative described in section 3 of this order.

                (b) Membership of the Council. The Council shall 
                consist of the heads of the following agencies and such 
                other executive branch agencies as the President may 
                designate:

(i) the Department of State;

(ii) the Department of the Treasury;

(iii) the Department of Defense;

(iv) the Department of Justice;

(v) the Department of the Interior;

(vi) the Department of Agriculture;

(vii) the Department of Commerce;

(viii) the Department of Labor;

(ix) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(x) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

[[Page 58534]]

(xi) the Department of Transportation;

(xii) the Department of Energy;

(xiii) the Department of Education;

(xiv) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(xv) the Department of Homeland Security;

(xvi) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(xvii) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;

(xviii) the Agency for International Development;

(xix) the General Services Administration;

(xx) the National Science Foundation;

(xxi) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;

(xxii) the Office of Personnel Management;

(xxiii) the Small Business Administration; and

(xxiv) the Social Security Administration.

                A member of the Council may designate, to perform the 
                Council functions of the member, a senior official who 
                is part of the member's agency, and who is a full-time 
                officer or employee of the Federal Government.

                (c) Administration of the Council. The Co-Chairs shall 
                convene meetings of the Council, determine its agenda, 
                and direct its work. At the direction of the Co-Chairs, 
                the Council may establish subgroups consisting 
                exclusively of Council members or their designees, as 
                appropriate. The Vice Chair shall designate an 
                Executive Director for the Council to support the Vice 
                Chair in managing the Council's activities. The OPM 
                shall provide administrative support for the Council to 
                the extent permitted by law and within existing 
                appropriations.

                (d) Steering Committee. There is established within the 
                Council a Steering Committee consisting of the 
                Secretaries of Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and 
                Homeland Security, the Director of OPM, and any other 
                Council member designated by the Co-Chairs. The 
                Steering Committee shall be responsible for providing 
                leadership, accountability, and strategic direction to 
                the Council.

                Sec. 3. Veterans Employment Initiative. The agencies 
                represented on the Council shall participate in a 
                Veterans Employment Initiative (Initiative). Under the 
                Initiative, each participating agency shall, to the 
                extent permitted by law:

                (a) develop an agency-specific Operational Plan for 
                promoting employment opportunities for veterans, 
                consistent with the Government-wide Veterans 
                Recruitment and Employment Strategic Plan described in 
                section 4 of this order, merit system principles, the 
                agency's strategic human capital plan, and other 
                applicable workforce planning strategies and 
                initiatives;

                (b) within 120 days of the date of this order, 
                establish a Veterans Employment Program Office, or 
                designate an agency officer or employee with full-time 
                responsibility for its Veterans Employment Program, to 
                be responsible for enhancing employment opportunities 
                for veterans within the agency, consistent with law and 
                merit system principles, including developing and 
                implementing the agency's Operational Plan, veterans 
                recruitment programs, and training programs for 
                veterans with disabilities, and for coordinating 
                employment counseling to help match the career 
                aspirations of veterans to the needs of the agency;

                (c) provide mandatory annual training to agency human 
                resources personnel and hiring managers concerning 
                veterans' employment, including training on veterans' 
                preferences and special authorities for the hiring of 
                veterans;

[[Page 58535]]

                (d) identify key occupations for which the agency will 
                provide job counseling and training to better enable 
                veterans to meet agency staffing needs associated with 
                those occupations; and

                (e) coordinate with the Departments of Defense and 
                Veterans Affairs to promote further development and 
                application of technology designed to assist 
                transitioning service members and veterans with 
                disabilities.

                Sec. 4. Additional Responsibilities of the Director of 
                the Office of Personnel Management. The Director of OPM 
                shall, in consultation with the Council and to the 
                extent permitted by law:

                (a) develop a Government-wide Veterans Recruitment and 
                Employment Strategic Plan, to be updated at least every 
                3 years, addressing barriers to the employment of 
                veterans in the executive branch and focusing on:

(i) identifying actions that agency leaders should take to improve 
employment opportunities for veterans;

(ii) developing the skills of transitioning military service members and 
veterans;

(iii) marketing the Federal Government as an employer of choice to 
transitioning service members and veterans;

(iv) marketing the talent, experience, and dedication of transitioning 
service members and veterans to Federal agencies; and

(v) disseminating Federal employment information to veterans and hiring 
officials;

                (b) provide Government-wide leadership in recruitment 
                and employment of veterans in the executive branch;

                (c) identify key occupations, focusing on positions in 
                high-demand occupations where talent is needed to meet 
                Government-wide staffing needs, for which the Federal 
                Government will provide job counseling and training 
                under section 5(a) of this order to veterans and 
                transitioning military service personnel;

                (d) develop mandatory training for both human resources 
                personnel and hiring managers on veterans' employment, 
                including veterans' preference and special hiring 
                authorities;

                (e) compile and post on the OPM website Government-wide 
                statistics on the hiring of veterans; and

                (f) within 1 year of the date of this order and with 
                the advice of the Council, provide recommendations to 
                the President on improving the ability of veterans' 
                preference laws to meet the needs of the new generation 
                of veterans, especially those transitioning from the 
                conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the needs of 
                Federal hiring officials.

                Sec. 5. Responsibilities of the Secretaries of Defense, 
                Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. The 
                Secretaries of Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and 
                Homeland Security shall take the following actions, to 
                the extent permitted by law:

                (a) The Secretaries of Defense, Labor, Veterans 
                Affairs, and Homeland Security shall, in consultation 
                with OPM, develop and implement counseling and training 
                programs to align veterans' and transitioning service 
                members' skills and career aspirations to Federal 
                employment opportunities, targeting Federal occupations 
                that are projected to have heavy recruitment needs.

                (b) The Secretary of Labor shall conduct employment 
                workshops for veterans and transitioning military 
                service personnel as part of the Transition Assistance 
                Program (TAP), and integrate in those workshops 
                information about the Federal hiring process, veterans' 
                preference laws, special hiring authorities, and 
                Federal job opportunities.

                (c) The Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland 
                Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) shall:

[[Page 58536]]

(i) reinforce military leadership's commitment and support of the service 
members' transition process; and

(ii) institute policies that encourage every eligible service member to 
take the opportunity to enroll in any or all of the four components of the 
TAP.

                (d) The Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs 
                shall:

(i) assist veterans and transitioning service members in translating 
military skills, training, and education to Federal occupations through 
programs developed under subsection (a) of this section; and

(ii) provide training to employment and rehabilitation counselors on the 
Federal hiring process, veterans' preferences, special hiring authorities, 
and identifying Federal employment opportunities for veterans.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency or the head thereof; 
or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

                (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create 
                any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    November 9, 2009.

[FR Doc. E9-27441
Filed 11-12-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P