HHS Exempts FDA Medical Officer Positions and More from Hiring Freeze
FDA medical officers — including those involved with product review and post-market safety monitoring across CDER, CBER and CDRH — will be exempt from the federal hiring freeze, according to an HHS memo.
The full list of exempt positions includes biologists, medical technologists, epidemiologists, and staff clinicians, as well as those in pharmacology, toxicology, physiology and biomedical engineering. The HHS memo also exempts FDA consumer safety officers and criminal investigators.
HHS Acting Deputy Secretary Colleen Barros asked agency heads in the memo to identify the positions necessary to fulfill public health responsibilities. Separate guidance from the Office of Personnel Management provided additional exemptions, specifically for commissioned positions within the Public Health Service and internal ladder promotions.
