Schedule F Quickly Moving Forward
Schedule F Quickly Moving Forward
By Ralph R. Smith
Employees Will Remain in Career Positions
Schedule F, the former term for the topic in the new guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is now covered by the Executive Order Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce. Regardless of the name, it is moving forward quickly. This guidance always uses the phrase “Security Policy/Career.”
On January 27, 2025, OPM issued more guidance to agencies. It notes the Executive Order signed on January 20, 2025, reinstated and amended the previous Executive Order 13957 issued in October 2020. The approach to be taken by the administration is now becoming clear. As part of this, the new guidance eliminates the relevant to this program issued by the Biden administration.
The guidance states employees moved into Security Policy/Career will remain career employees. The same procedures used for career positions will still be used for hiring.
Political affiliation will not be considered within the guidelines outlined. The hiring decisions will be based on which candidates have the greatest knowledge, skills, and ability to do the job. The employees do not have to agree with the administration’s policies or the goals of the president, but they will have to work to implement these as the job requires.
As outlined below, the appeal procedures available for an employee in Schedule Policy/Career will differ from other career employees.
Positions to Be Moved Into New Category
The new guidance reiterates the characteristics of positions to be reassigned to a “Schedule Policy/Career” category for some federal employees. It noted that positions to be moved into the new category include:
- Functions statutorily described as important policy-making or policy-determining functions, principally:
- directing the work of an organizational unit;
- being held accountable for the success of one or more specific programs or projects; or
- monitoring progress toward organizational goals and periodically evaluating and making appropriate adjustments to such goals;
- Authority to bind the agency to a position, policy, or course of action either without higher-level review or with only limited higher-level review;
- Delegated or subdelegated authority to make decisions committed by law to the discretion of the agency head;
- Substantive participation and discretionary authority in agency grantmaking, such as the substantive exercise of discretion in the drafting of funding opportunity announcements, evaluation of grant applications, or recommending or selecting grant recipients;
- Advocating for the policies (including future appropriations) of the agency or the administration before different governmental entities, such as by performing functions typically undertaken by an agency office of legislative affairs or intergovernmental affairs, or by presenting program resource requirements to examiners from the Office of Management and Budget in preparation of the annual President’s Budget Request;
- Publicly advocating for the policies of the agency or the administration, including before the news media or on social media; or positions described by their position descriptions as entailing policy-making, policy-determining, or policy-advocating duties.
Agency Deadlines to Comply
The transfer into the new category will go in segments for many agencies.
The OPM guidance states a new executive order will transfer employees meeting the guidelines into the Schedule Policy/Career category. Agencies have 90 days to conduct a preliminary review of positions and submit petitions to OPM, with an additional 120 days to finalize their review and submit any remaining petitions.
Agencies are directed to designate a point of contact for this purpose and to notify OPM of the contact point no later than Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
The guidelines do not require all positions be transferred. Agencies may include positions with additional requirements not specified in the guidance. OPM may recommend the President accept these positions if the agency demonstrates a position has characteristics of a policy-determining or policy-advocating character.
OPM will retain discretion to decide what categories and types of positions will be recommended for the transfer into Schedule Policy/Career.
Status of Biden Administration Regulations
The OPM guidance notes President Trump used his authority under the Constitution and 5 U.S.C. §§ 3301 and 3302 to directly nullify the regulations issued under the Biden administration that imposed procedural obstacles to moving career positions into policy-influencing and excepted service schedules. OPM states in its guidance that “This presidential directive immediately superseded OPM regulations issued using delegated presidential authority.”
Instead, agencies should ignore the requirements issued under the Biden administration on this issue, and OPM’s October 25, 2024, guidance document “Implementing Guidance for Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles Regulations” is now rescinded in its entirety.
With regard to position reviews, the Trump Executive Order 13957 requires:
…all agency petitions to ‘include a written explanation documenting the basis for the agency head’s determination that such position[s] should be placed in Schedule Policy/Career.’ Written explanations must demonstrate that the position’s duties are policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating, or require working closely with senior officials in the case of confidential positions. That objective definition of the position’s duties must be derived from a statute, regulation, or internal agency document such as the position description.
OPM has created the email address employe@opm.gov for agencies to email its petitions to reschedule positions to Schedule Policy/Career. These petitions are due no later than Sunday, April 20, 2025.