Weather Workforce Improvement Act

Weather Workforce Improvement Act would create a temporary, targeted hiring authority for the National Weather Service (NWS) to fill critical public-safety positions more quickly. It allows the NWS Director to appoint qualified candidates directly to certain meteorology, science, IT, and engineering roles without following most standard federal hiring rules, for up to two years or until all critical vacancies are filled. The bill also requires the Office of Personnel Management to designate these positions as public-safety roles. In addition, it amends the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 to require annual workforce and health/morale assessments of the NWS, including potential private-sector contracting for the assessments and options to mitigate rotating-shift impacts. The overall aim is to improve staffing for safety-critical tasks (notably weather balloons launches and related operations) and to provide ongoing oversight of workforce needs and worker well-being.