The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a moratorium on the processing of Senior Executive Service (SES) Qualification Review Board (QRB) cases in order to allow the new Obama administration agency leaders the opportunity to weigh in on the career senior executives they will work with.

The review boards are independent panels of senior executives who assess the qualifications of candidates to enter the SES. Under federal law, OPM has the authority to suspend QRB cases whenever an agency head departs. President Bush requested that all presidential appointees submit their resignations by December 19, effectively leaving all agencies in that position.

In a memo to chief human capital officers, acting OPM director Michael Hager said the suspension was called "to ensure the incoming head of the agency will have the full opportunity to exercise his or her prerogative to make or approve executive resource decisions that will impact the agency's performance during his or her tenure." Exceptions to the policy would be considered on a case by case basis, but new SES candidates should assume that they are in a holding pattern until after January 20.

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