Memorandum About Placement of Displaced Career Employees

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

A competent Federal career service is one of our most valuable assets. Career employees provide the skills, continuity and professional knowledge needed to carry out complex national programs and to perform essential governmental services.

As you know, reform and reduction of outmoded programs has limited many jobs in government. All departments and agencies have a responsibility to help provide the means by which displaced Federal career employees may transfer to other needed positions where their valuable skills can be retained.

Major reductions are taking place in the Department of Defense; last month, the elimination of 58,600 positions was announced. However, there is an annual turnover of about 400,000 employees in all government agencies. I urge all other departments and agencies to give priority consideration to displaced career employees when filling their vacancies.

The Civil Service Commission and the Department of Defense have established procedures for referral of these employees for consideration by other agencies. While the Civil Service Commission will provide leadership to this government-wide placement effort, each department and agency must accept responsibility for assuring that qualified displaced employees are given full and sympathetic consideration when vacancies are filled.

I also direct the Department of Labor to provide counseling, retraining and job placement services for those employees interested in retraining or in placement in non-Federal employment.

Through the joint efforts of all Federal agencies we can assure that the entire burden of adjusting to these necessary changes does not fall on the individual career employee but is responsibly shared by all of the agencies of Government. We cannot afford to continue unnecessary jobs; neither can we afford to lose good people.

RICHARD NIXON