Detroit, MI - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today hosted with the Detroit Federal Executive Board the latest hiring flexibility and emergency planning seminar for federal agencies. This is an expanded series of seminars designed to provide crucial information agencies can use in work force planning and continuity of business operations in the event of an emergency. The first was conducted in Philadelphia on October 19.

"The newest hiring flexibility seminars play a significant role in agencies' work force planning as well as their emergency preparation efforts in the event of a natural or man-made disaster," stated OPM Director Kay Coles James. "Federal agencies must be able to continue the business of government under any circumstance, and knowing what hiring flexibilities are available and having an emergency plan in place make this possible."

Today's seminar, held at the Patrick McNamara Building in Detroit, and open to federal executives, human resources managers, and emergency and law enforcement officers, builds on a series of federal hiring flexibility and emergency preparedness training seminars first conducted last summer. Topics discussed in Detroit included appointing authorities for veterans, applying the criteria for seeking direct hire authority, student and excepted service employment authorities, and using the category rating procedures for competitive examining. Today's seminar also addressed strategies for implementing these flexibilities through practical applications. Agencies that participated in today's event include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, Veterans' Affairs, and the Department of Justice.

"President George W. Bush has made it a priority for federal agencies to be prepared to continue providing the necessary services on behalf of the American people under any circumstance," James said. "Knowing hiring authorities that reduce the time to hire for critical occupations and having a plan in place to use those hiring authorities greatly prepares agencies to act effectively."

Previous hiring flexibility training seminars were conducted last summer in Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston; and previous emergency planning training seminars were held in Washington, D.C, and in New York City and Boston in preparation for the political conventions.

OPM has scheduled additional hiring flexibilities and emergency planning training seminars throughout October for Pittsburgh, Miami, St. Louis, and Denver.