When President Trump took office for the start of his second term on January 20, 2025, one of his first orders of business was to sign 100 executive orders that seek to implement sweeping changes throughout the federal government and beyond. Several of these executive orders directly impact federal employees.
One example is the executive order titled, Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce. This executive order seeks to revive a similar order that President Trump issued late in his first administration, which President Biden subsequently reversed. It specifically targets federal employees who hold “positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character,” seeking to exempt these employees from protections against termination under a new “Schedule F.”
As one publication succinctly explains:
“Trump’s revived Schedule F order aims to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees in ‘policy-influencing’ roles. If implemented, the directive would place [federal employees] in those roles outside merit system principles, making it easier for agencies to remove them from their positions.”
The executive order instructs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to, “promptly recommend to the President which positions should be placed in” Schedule F—which is now called Schedule Policy/Career. The OPM published interim guidance on January 27, 2025, which we discuss in detail below.
It is worth noting that the executive order, Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce, is already being challenged in court. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) filed a lawsuit in federal court on January 21, 2025 alleging that the executive order, “wrongly applies employment rules for political appointees to career staff; deprives federal employees of due process rights that they were promised when they were hired; and ignores Office of Personnel Management regulations.” However, the OPM issued its interim guidance after this lawsuit was filed; and, at present, the OPM appears to be moving forward with implementing the executive order’s requirements.
The OPM’s Interim Guidance on President Trump’s Schedule Policy/Career Executive Order
The OPM’s interim guidance addresses “the types of positions agencies should consider for Schedule Policy/Career.” In doing so, it advises that positions that should be considered for this designation are those with the following duties:
- “[F]unctions statutorily described as important policy-making or policy-determining functions, principally: directing the work of an organizational unit; being held accountable for the success of one or more specific programs or projects; or monitoring progress toward organizational goals and periodically evaluating and making appropriate adjustments to such goals;”
- “[A]uthority to bind the agency to a position, policy, or course of action either without higher-level review or with only limited higher-level review;”
- “[D]elegated or subdelegated authority to make decisions committed by law to the discretion of the agency head;”
- “[S]ubstantive participation and discretionary authority in agency grantmaking, such as the substantive exercise of discretion in the drafting of funding opportunity announcements, evaluation of grant applications, or recommending or selecting grant recipients;”
- “[A]dvocating for the policies (including future appropriations) of the agency or the administration before different governmental entities, such as by performing functions typically undertaken by an agency office of legislative affairs or intergovernmental affairs . . . ;”
- “[P]ublicly advocating for the policies of the agency or the administration, including before the news media or on social media;” or,
- “[P]ositions described . . . as entailing policy-making, policy-determining, or policy-advocating duties.”
As you can see, these descriptions are extremely broad (and the OPM’s memorandum goes on to state that these descriptions are “not determinative” and that federal agencies “may include positions . . . based on additional characteristics not expressly specified” in the interim guidance). As a result, the interim guidance gives agency heads extremely broad discretion to implement these descriptions as they deem appropriate. This has the potential to negatively impact tens of thousands of federal employees. Federal agencies have 210 days to conduct reviews to determine which positions fall into Schedule Policy/Career, though they are “encouraged” to submit positions on a rolling basis.
What Does it Mean if Your Position is Classified in Schedule Policy/Career?
If your position within the federal government is classified in Schedule Policy/Career under the executive order, Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce, what does this mean for you?
If your position is classified in Schedule Policy/Career, you will be required to, “faithfully implement administration policies to the best of [your] ability, consistent with [your] constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority solely in the President.”
What if you don’t? Or, what if you are accused of failing to do so?
“Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.”
Federal employees classified in Schedule Policy/Career will no longer be entitled to the protections afforded under Chapter 75 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code. This is the chapter that outlines the notice and opportunity-to-respond requirements for terminating federal workers, as well as the opportunity to challenge removal from federal service by filing an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
What Can (and Should) You Do if You Lose Your Federal Job After Being Classified in Schedule Policy/Career?
With all of this in mind, what can (and should) you do if you lose your federal job after being classified in Schedule Policy/Career? The short answer is, “It depends.” While Schedule Policy/Career employees are not entitled to many of the same protections as other federal workers, some protections still apply. An experienced federal employment lawyer will be able to explain your legal rights and take any legal action that may be warranted on your behalf.
Request a Confidential Consultation with a Federal Employment Lawyer at Bell Law Group
Do you need to know more about being classified (or facing termination) under Schedule Policy/Career? If so, we can help, and we strongly encourage you to contact us promptly. To schedule a free and confidential consultation with an experienced federal employment lawyer at Bell Law Group as soon as possible, call us at 516-585-3718 or tell us how we can reach you online now.