§2517 Authority for certain personnel

Summary

The Commandant can hire certain Coast Guard employees into the competitive service without following most of the usual federal hiring rules in chapter 33 of title 5, but must still follow sections 3303 and 3328. The types of jobs covered include medical and health workers, childcare staff, housing-office supervisors who manage Coast Guard housing, nonclinical prevention specialists (for things like suicide, sexual assault, harassment, domestic abuse, and child abuse), special agents in the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and certain Coast Guard Academy positions such as civilian faculty and roles that improve cadet health or well‑being. The Commandant may use this hiring shortcut only when there is a shortage of qualified candidates or a critical hiring need. Within one year after the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 becomes law, and then once a year for the next five years, the Commandant must send a written report to the listed Senate and House committees. The report must say how many people were hired under this authority, the jobs and grades, why each job needed this hiring method, how many hires later left the Coast Guard, and what steps were taken to work with the Office of Personnel Management under subpart B of part 337 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations. This special hiring authority ends on September 30, 2030.