The Civil Service Archive

Tracking changes to the federal workplace

Small changes in personnel policies can create seismic shifts in how our government operates — but these internal policies can be hard to find. This Archive provides a catalog of recent changes to policies and practices affecting the federal civil service, searchable by agency, employee category, and theme.

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177 Matching Records

Reduction in Force

On March 5, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed this new rule that would significantly shift the process for conducting Reductions in Force (RIFs). A number of federal statutes govern how RIFs are conducted but give authority to...

Submission for Reinstatement of Forms Used for Program Services Evaluation & Leadership Assessment Surveys

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published notice of its work with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees the government's information collection activities, to obtain the reinstatement of forms OPM used during the first Trump administration to...

Performance Appraisal for General Schedule, Prevailing Rate, & Other Employees

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published this proposed regulation which would significantly change the performance appraisal framework for the vast majority of federal employees. The most significant change is that the proposed regulation would remove the prohibition against the...

Managing Senior Professional Performance

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) jointly published a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that would create a dedicated performance appraisal framework for more senior employees who are not members of...

Supplemental Guidance on the Merit Hiring Plan

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued this guidance memo on its Merit Hiring Plan. The memo itself has four attached guidance memos, each on a different aspect of implementing the new hiring approach: a memo on agency leadership involvement,...

Hiring Authority for College Graduates

In February 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized a regulation that the Biden administration had proposed in 2021 but had not issued as a final regulation. The regulation implements a law Congress enacted to allow the federal government...

Hiring Authority for Post-Secondary Students

Guidance re Implementation of Executive Orders 14,251 & 14,343

On February 11, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance on Executive Orders 14,251 and 14,343, in which President Trump sought to terminate union representation for many federal employees, primarily citing to national security concerns. At the time...

FAQs on Telework Accommodations for Disabilities in the Federal Government

This memorandum regarding telework as an accommodation for workers with disabilities was issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and jointly signed by OPM's Director and the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). The document and its...

Reduction in Force Appeals

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the appeal process for Reductions in Force (RIFs). Under OPM's existing regulations, employees could appeal being laid off as a result of a RIF to the...

Improving Performance, Accountability & Responsiveness in the Civil Service

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule implementing EO 14,171 (Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce) which created a new category of federal employee: Schedule Policy/Career (P/C). In general, civil servants are classified into...

Suitability Action Appeals

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding federal employees' ability to appeal determinations that they are not "suitable" to remain federal employees. Generally speaking, a "suitability" determination is a determination made by OPM...

Additional Implementing Guidance for Schedule P/C Final Rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a follow-up to its initial guidance to agencies on implementing its final Schedule Policy/Career (P/C) regulation. The follow-up guidance included six new appendices with document for use by agencies, which together make a...

Initial Implementing Guidance for Schedule P/C Final Rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released initial guidance on implementing the final rule, "Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service." The rule contemplates that the President will publish an Executive Order that will move employees into a...

Withdrawal of Proposed Rule: FEHB Modification of Effective Date of Coverage for Employees With an Initial Opportunity To Enroll

In February 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a notice in the Federal Register that it was withdrawing a prior 2024 notice proposing a regulation related to employee health benefits. The 2024 proposal would have allowed new federal...

Agency Reporting to OPM for FY2025 Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Use & Collective Bargaining Expenses

On January 30, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum directing agencies to provide information on the total cost for the use of official time for collective bargaining activities. OPM set a deadline of February 23 for...

Guidance on Reinvigorating Merit-Based Hiring Through Candidate Ranking (Rule of Many)

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued this guidance on its implementation of "the Rule of Many" hiring process, which replaced "the Rule of Three." This change was made through OPM's issuance of a final regulation in September 2025 titled...

2025 Guide to Telework & Remote Work in the Federal Government

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued this guide to telework and remote work, as part of implementing President Trump's January 2025 Presidential Memorandum titled "Return to In-Person Work." The guide sets full-time in-person work as the baseline expectation for...

Streamlining Probationary & Trial Period Appeals

On December 30, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a proposed regulation regarding the appeal rights of terminated probationary employees. The regulation would strip terminated probationary employees of the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board...