Executive Order 13488

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 1104(a)(1), 3301, and 7301 of title 5, United States Code, and in order to simplify and streamline the system of Federal Government personnel investigative and adjudicative processes to make them more efficient and effective, it is hereby ordered as follows:

.Policy.

.Definitions.


 * For the purposes of this order:

.Agency Authority to Set Fitness Criteria and Determine Equivalency.


 * The authority to establish criteria for making fitness determinations remains within the discretion of the agency head. Agency heads also have the discretion to determine whether their criteria are equivalent to suitability standards established by the Office of Personnel Management. Agency heads shall take into account Office of Personnel Management guidance when exercising this discretion.

.Reciprocal Recognition of Fitness and Suitability Determinations.

.Reinvestigation of Individuals in Positions of Public Trust.


 * Individuals in positions of public trust shall be subject to reinvestigation under standards (including but not limited to the frequency of such reinvestigation) as determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, to ensure their suitability for continued employment.

.Responsibilities.

.General Provisions.

. Effective Date and Applicability.


 * This order is effective upon issuance and is applicable to individuals newly appointed to excepted service positions or hired as contractor employees beginning 90 days from the effective date of this order.

, January 16, 2009. [FR Doc. E9–1574 Filed 1–21–09; 4:15 pm] Billing code 3195–W9–P