Schedule Policy/Career (formerly Schedule F) Returns: What Every Federal Employee Needs to Know
Apr 21, 2025
A late‑Friday filing by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) dropped a regulatory bombshell: the agency will resurrect – and rename – the controversial Schedule F excepted‑service category. The proposal, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on April 23 and open for comment for just thirty days, would reclassify an estimated 50,000 positions (about 2 percent of the civilian workforce) into “Schedule Policy/Career.” Below is a straight‑talk briefing on what the change does, why it matters, and the practical steps you should take now.
How Did We Get Here?
Civil‑service protections trace to the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which cemented merit‑based hiring and gave most career employees advance notice, evidence disclosure, and MSPB appeal rights before adverse actions. In the final months of his first term, President Trump signed an executive order creating Schedule F – a carve‑out for employees in “confidential, policy‑determining, or policy‑advocating” roles. That order was never fully implemented and was rescinded on Day 1 of the Biden administration.
On Inauguration Day 2025, Trump reinstated Schedule F by executive order. OPM’s new rule supplies the regulatory machinery to make it real – and arguably more durable – by transferring final conversion authority from the OPM Director to the President and by renaming the category to Schedule Policy/Career (SP/C).
What Exactly Changes?
- At‑will status. Employees moved into SP/C lose the 30‑day written notice, opportunity to reply, and Douglas‑factor balancing that underpin the current Title 5 removal process. Terminations may take effect “without procedural delay.”
- Who can be moved. OPM broadly defines eligibility as any position “influencing interpretation or implementation of law, regulation, doctrine, or policy.” That likely sweeps in attorneys, HR specialists, budget analysts, communications officers, regulatory affairs experts, inspectors, and program evaluators – far beyond the policy advisers contemplated in the original Schedule F.
- Conversion mechanics. Agencies must identify candidate positions and submit justifications to OPM within 45 days of a presidential directive. The President – not OPM – approves final lists, insulating the process from career review.
- Hiring claims. OPM says SP/C jobs remain merit‑based and subject to competitive examining, but converted incumbents can be removed at will and their vacancies filled via excepted‑service hiring authorities that bypass competitive certificates.
- Appeal rights. The proposed rule asserts removals “for misconduct, poor performance, corruption, or subversion of presidential directives” will not be appealable to the MSPB. Employees could still seek relief in federal court, but only after exhausting limited intra‑agency review.
- Whistleblower carve‑out? The filing is silent on 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) protections. In practice, at‑will status chills disclosure – an employee fired days after raising fraud must prove reprisal without the usual interim relief of MSPB jurisdiction.
Could this Survive Legal Challenge?
The administration argues Article II and 5 U.S.C. § 3302 let the President create excepted‑service categories. Opponents point to:
- Civil Service Reform Act limits. Congress intended career‑status removals to follow due process unless an employee occupies a specifically exempted position (e.g., SES, Schedule C). Courts overturned blanket cuts to MSPB jurisdiction in Frawley v. MSPB and Fausto.
- Arbitrary‑and‑capricious review. The 2020 Schedule F order was never litigated to judgment, but district judges signaled skepticism that agencies could “de‑classify” filled jobs without individualized analysis.
- Equal Protection and First Amendment. Mass conversions perceived as loyalty tests invite viewpoint‑discrimination claims – especially if removal notices cite “failure to advance presidential policies.”
Expect unions and good‑government groups to sue as soon as a final rule publishes; nonetheless, agencies can begin drafting conversion lists while litigation grinds on.
How Do I Know if I’m a Target?
Ask three questions about your job:
- Do you advise, draft, or interpret policy? If your daily work includes writing guidance, clearance memos, regulatory preambles, or briefing papers, OPM is eyeing you.
- Is your position description coded as “0501,” “0301,” “0343,” “0905,” “2210,” or “0340”? Those broad occupational series are on every preliminary list we’ve seen.
- Are you graded GS‑13 through GS‑15 (or equivalent)? OPM’s own estimate focuses on the mid‑ to senior‑level ranks that shape agency outputs.
If you answered yes to at least two, assume could you be in the 50,000 and start preparing.
Immediate Steps to Protect Yourself
- Download your e‑OPF. Save your SF‑50s, performance plans, PD, awards, and training history to a personal, encrypted drive.
- Print your latest position description and classification standard. Conversions must cite “policy influence”; mismatches between duties and the SP/C definition strengthen a future appeal.
- Document accomplishments. File copies of project memos, praise emails, and metrics; they rebut claims of “poor performance.”
- Engage your union now—even if you’re not a member. Exclusive‑representation status means the union can demand negotiations over impact and implementation.
- Mark the calendar: comment window closes May 23. Individual stories—especially from mission‑critical programs—carry weight in the rulemaking record and future litigation.
- Mindful resilience. Schedule ten‑minute resets during the workday: breathe, ground, and separate facts (rule, timeline, your evidence) from catastrophic narratives. Clarity equips action.
If a Conversion Notice Lands in Your Inbox
- Do not resign. Resignation waives future claims.
- Request the full record. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552a you are entitled to the justification OPM or the agency used.
- Track retaliatory timing. If you filed EEO, whistleblower, or grievance activity recently, a Schedule‑SP/C removal could double as a reprisal claim.
The Road Ahead
OPM has signaled that once comments close, it intends to finalize the regulation “expeditiously.” Assuming a mid‑June effective date, agencies could begin issuing conversion letters as soon as July. Parallel moves—the extended hiring freeze, union decertifications at VA, and DOGE‑driven data grabs—are part of the same push to centralize control.
History shows that when civil‑service rights erode, merit suffocates and public trust nosedives. If you value an apolitical career service, now is the time to act—submit a cogent comment, marshal your documentation, and stay connected to professional networks that will litigate and lobby for statutory protections.