A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reviews the use of the Title 42 Special Hiring Authority by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Title 42 authority allows federal agencies to appoint and compensate highly qualified scientists and engineers from academia, private industry, and other government agencies.

The report says supporting and expanding Title 42 is essential to ensuring that EPA has the scientific capability to implement its required mandates, address future environmental challenges, and provide future leadership. Although only 2.6% of the current workforce in EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) are Title 42 hires, these personnel have provided strong scientific leadership, advanced innovation, and improved the scientific capacity of the EPA, the report emphasizes.

EPA’s Title 42 program has not revised its salary caps since its inception in 2006. The report recommends increasing the salary cap to $350,000 (the same as the NIH Title 42 Hiring Authority), to increase the “buying power” of the salaries offered by the program.

While it finds the EPA has implemented the Title 42 program in a well-organized manner in general, the report makes recommendations for revising the program’s hiring procedures, with a focus on integrating the overall priorities for Title 42 positions into ORD’s evolving research strategic planning.

The National Academies’ report, Review of EPA’s Use of Title 42 Special Hiring Authority, is now available for immediate release. For inquiries, reporters can contact the Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or email news@nas.edu.

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