Schedule F is Back

President Trump has reissued Schedule F which gives him extensive authority to fire those failing to meet performance requirements without the lengthy procedures now required.

Schedule F and the Federal Workforce

On October 21, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Creating Schedule F In The Excepted Service. The Order would potentially have made some 50,000 federal employees subject to removal from their jobs without having the usual array of appeal rights that providing significant amount of job protection through extensive procedures required to fire an employee.

As noted in a FedSmith article announcing the new Schedule F category, “an observer of the federal government’s civil service may view this as a way to ‘drain the swamp’—a phrase often mentioned by President Trump prior to being elected president when referring to how the federal government and those who surround it function on a daily basis.”

The reaction of the federal community to the Executive Order was predictable and intense. Here is a very brief summary of both sides of the argument on Schedule F:

One side is concerned about the lack of control over government policy, how these policies are decided, and the influence of unelected and often invisible decision-makers from inside the federal government.

On the other side of the discussion, there is concern about having more political appointees assuming power after a change in administrations, the lack of continuity in government, the lack of protection for federal employees in the jobs that they have, and the possible rise of a “spoils system” of government.

One union filed a lawsuit within a few days of it being issued to prevent implementation. President Biden issued an order rescinding Schedule F so it never impacted the federal workforce as it was issued so late in the Trump administration.

Schedule F is Back: With a Directive to OPM Director

On his first day back in office, President Trump issued Restoring Accountability to Policy–Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce.

To get right to the point, here is a segment in the new Executive Order:

Reinstatement of Prior Administration Policy.  Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), is hereby immediately reinstated with full force and effect, subject to the amendments described in section 3 of this order; provided that the date of this order shall be treated as the date of Executive Order 13957.

Perhaps to respond to some of the criticism that erupted after Schedule F was issued in 2017, this section was added to the Order:

Employees in or applicants for Schedule Policy/Career positions are not required to personally or politically support the current President or the policies of the current administration. They are required to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability, consistent with their constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority solely in the President.  Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.

For those who may be wondering about the rule issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure Schedule F was not reinstated, the new Order contains this statement:

The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (Director) shall promptly amend the Civil Service Regulations to rescind all changes made by the final rule of April 9, 2024, “Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles,” 89 Fed. Reg. 24982, that impede the purposes of or would otherwise affect the implementation of Executive Order 13957.

Not that there was any doubt, but the Order specifies to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management:

Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Director shall, after consultation with the Executive Office of the President, issue guidance about additional categories of positions that executive departments and agencies should consider recommending for Schedule Policy/Career.

What Does Schedule F Do?

This Executive Order reinstated the original Executive order. It will make it easier to fire employees not performing up to expectations. For those federal employees that fall within the new category of employees, they will not have the usual array of procedures and appeal rights hindering removal of federal employees.

The Order applies to federal employees in policy-making positions. The Order changes the term “Schedule F.” It replaces the letter “F” to designate an excepted service schedule, with the words “Policy/Career” instead of Schedule F.

The original Order made this clear: “Agencies need the flexibility to expeditiously remove poorly performing employees from these positions without facing extensive delays or litigation.”

The new Order states it is designed to “maintain professionalism and accountability within the civil service.” It states the president’s belief that “This accountability is sorely lacking today. Only 41 percent of civil service supervisors are confident that they can remove an employee who engaged in insubordination or serious misconduct.  Even fewer supervisors –- 26 percent — are confident that they can remove an employee for poor performance.”

Reaction by Federal Employee Unions

Federal employee unions reacted strongly to this Executive Order when it was issued in 2017. Within a short time after the new Order was issued, the largest federal employee union, AFGE, issued a press release stating:

President Trump’s order is a blatant attempt to corrupt the federal government by eliminating employees’ due process rights so they can be fired for political reasons. It will remove hundreds of thousands of federal jobs from the nonpartisan, professional civil service and make them answerable to the will of one man. 

This unprecedented assertion of executive power will create an army of sycophants beholden only to Donald Trump, not the Constitution or the American people. The integrity of the entire federal government could be irreparably harmed if this is not stopped.

The issue will proceed to Court, perhaps to the U.S. Supreme Court, for judicial review. In the meantime, the administration will presumably move out to improve government efficiency by implementing this new requirement that will impact thousands of federal employees. The final resolution may be a long time coming as court review will not be quick.

The new Order does state, “The (OPM) Director shall promptly recommend to the President which positions should be placed in Schedule Policy/Career.”

It also requires that “wthin 30 days of the date of this order, the Director shall, after consultation with the Executive Office of the President, issue guidance about additional categories of positions that executive departments and agencies should consider recommending for Schedule Policy/Career.”

About the Author

Ralph Smith has several decades of experience working with federal human resources issues. He has written extensively on a full range of human resources topics in books and newsletters and is a co-founder of two companies and several newsletters on federal human resources. Follow Ralph on Twitter: @RalphSmith47