Reinvigorating Merit-Based Hiring Through Candidate Ranking in the Competitive & Excepted Service (Rule of Many)

This Office of Personnel Management (OPM) final regulation implements changes to regulations governing hiring across the federal government, as authorized by Public Law 115-232, John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. The key change is the replacement of a prior rule called the "Rule of Three" with the "Rule of Many." The Rule of Many enables agencies to evaluate candidates based on their relative ability, skills, and knowledge using a numerical ranking system. The NDAA eliminated the requirement that an agency select only from the top three ranked candidates at any given juncture (i.e., the "rule of three"). Instead agencies may consider a sufficient number of candidates (no fewer than three) using a cut-off score or other mechanism established by OPM. Based on this rule, agencies can also remove a candidate from consideration if they have previously considered (and rejected) that candidate three times for sufficiently similar roles. This change also affects how agencies may make selections under 5 CFR Part 302, titled "Employment in the Excepted Service." The rule has the potential to introduce additional discretion by agency leadership into routine hiring processes.