EO 14,317: Creating Schedule G in the Excepted Service

The civil service contains many different types of employees, which are generally organized into categories called "schedules." Employees in each schedule have different rights and rules that govern their employment. Executive Order 14,317 created a new schedule in the excepted service called Schedule G. Like Schedule C, Schedule G is for political appointees, meaning that individuals may be appointed rather than going through an ordinary competitive hiring process. Schedule G is for "policy-making" and "policy-advocating" positions of a political nature. Meanwhile, Schedule C is for "confidential and policy-determining" positions of a political nature. These terms are derived from a law, 5 U.S.C. § 7511(b)(2), that excludes an excepted service position determined to be of a "confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating" character from certain employment protections — specifically, the for-cause removal and appeal rights under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 75, Subchapter II. See Protect Democracy's Dear Civil Servant newsletter for a lengthier discussion of Schedule G.