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 (MSPB) when they are terminated based on political affiliation or marital status. Instead, employees terminated while serving probationary periods in competitive service positions would be permitted to file limited appeals to OPM. Some, but not all, employees terminated while serving trial periods in excepted service positions would be permitted to appeal to OPM, as well. OPM proposed to extend the appeal right to individuals hired under a program established in 5 C.F.R. Part 307 for certain veterans, a population that excludes some preference-eligible employees and that includes some individuals who are not preference-eligible. Under the proposed regulation, an individual appealing to OPM would have no right to a hearing and would bear the burden of proving that their termination was based on political affiliation or marital status, while having no access to agency records or information. They would have no right to appeal on procedural grounds formerly amenable to appeals under OPM's regulations predating the Trump administration. OPM, rather than the MSPB — which was designed to be independent — would issue a decision on the appeals. This creates a system where administration leadership would have authority to determine whether the administration committed political affiliation or marital status discrimination.