Guidance on Hiring Freeze Exemptions for the Civilian Workforce

This memo implements procedures for the Department of Defense's February 28, 2025 civilian hiring freeze. The memo outlines automatically exempt position categories, including positions supporting the President, those requiring Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, positions essential to immigration enforcement, national security, public safety, and recruiting, and positions at depots, shipyards, arsenals, military medical treatment facilities, DOD schools, child care centers, and Military Entrance Processing Command facilities. Career ladder promotions, non-appropriated fund positions, foreign national positions covered by host-nation agreements, and civilian mariner positions are also exempt from the hiring freeze.