OPM is proposing to eliminate the time-in-grade rule, allowing faster promotions while giving agencies more discretion over employee advancement.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced on May 27, 2026, a proposal to eliminate the federal government’s time-in-grade (TIG) restriction, a longstanding rule that has shaped career progression for millions of General Schedule (GS) employees.

If or when this is finalized, the change will be a significant shift in federal promotions, moving away from time-based eligibility for higher pay and toward a greater emphasis on merit, performance, and demonstrated qualifications.  

The proposal is intended to increase flexibility in hiring and promotions, but it would also fundamentally change how career progression works across much of the federal workforce.

The rule was intended to ensure:

• Employees demonstrate competence at their current level
• Promotions are based on sustained performance, not rapid job-hopping or internal movement
• Agencies maintain consistency and fairness in advancement decisions

Its origins trace back to the Korean War-era Whitten Amendment (which expired in 1978), but the regulatory requirement persisted as a safeguard for the merit-based civil service system.

What Is the Time-in-Grade Rule?

The time-in-grade rule applies primarily to employees in the competitive service who occupy GS positions at Grade 5 and above. It requires that, before an employee can be promoted to a higher grade, they must have served at least 52 weeks (one year) in their current grade level. 

It requires employees to serve a minimum period at their current grade level before becoming eligible for promotion to the next grade.

Typical requirements include:

• At least 52 weeks (1 year) at the current GS grade before promotion consideration to the next higher grade (GS-1 through GS-5 typically follow standard patterns)
• More structured waiting periods in competitive promotion contexts
• Application across most competitive service positions

The rule does not apply to promotions within the first few grades (up to GS-5 in many cases) or to certain other appointment types, and it is separate from Within-Grade Increases (WGIs or “step increases”), which are based on time-in-step and acceptable performance.

The time in grade rule was designed to prevent excessively rapid promotions and to ensure that employees gain sufficient on-the-job experience before advancing to more responsible positions. 

In practice, the rule has often meant that even highly capable employees had to “serve their time” before becoming eligible for the next rung on the ladder, regardless of their skills, accomplishments, or the agency’s urgent needs.

For those employees who worked hard, made a difference in the organization, and demonstrated the ability to perform at a higher level, the requirement was a classic example of bureaucratic compliance that held back and perhaps discouraged some of the most successful performers. 

What Is Driving the Proposal?

OPM makes the argument that the rule is outdated in today’s talent market.

Modern qualification standards, merit system principles, and prohibitions against personnel practices (such as favoritism or discrimination) already provide sufficient guardrails. The agency believes the arbitrary one-year waiting period no longer serves a necessary purpose and can actually hinder effective workforce management. 

Key goals cited in the proposal include:

• Helping agencies compete more effectively for top talent.
• Improving retention of high-performing employees who might otherwise leave for faster advancement elsewhere.
• Shifting the focus of promotions from “time served” to demonstrated readiness, skills, and performance.
• Giving managers greater flexibility to place talented people into mission-critical roles more quickly.

OPM Director Scott Kupor summarized the rationale in this way: “Federal employees should be rewarded for what they can do, not how long they have waited. This proposed rule strengthens merit, gives managers more flexibility to recognize high performers, and helps agencies move talented people into mission-critical roles faster.” 

Those who take the time to read his weekly message to employees know this OPM Director is not opposed to change in government. This latest proposal is just one of a number of changes occurring during the Trump administration, and Scott Kupor appears to be a moving force for many of these changes.

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