in effect
Executive Order 14410, signed June 3, 2026, formally transfers a large set of federal career positions into a classification called “Schedule Policy/Career” within the excepted service. It also amends existing Civil Service Rules and prior executive orders to implement that classification and directs agencies to create bonus programs for employees in those positions.
Positions listed in an attached appendix are immediately moved from the competitive service into Schedule Policy/Career, stripping those jobs of the standard adverse-action procedural protections (appeals, notice timelines, etc.) that otherwise make removing a federal employee for poor performance or misconduct difficult. Agency heads must notify affected employees within 7 days and update agency records to reflect the reclassification. Agency heads can also petition the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to add additional positions to the schedule. OPM must begin rulemaking to create a Presidential award program for Schedule Policy/Career employees, and each affected agency must set aside a separate bonus pool to reward outstanding performers. OPM also has 60 days to clean up obsolete Civil Service Rule language.
Federal career employees whose specific positions appear in the order’s appendix are directly affected — they remain in career (non-political) jobs hired on merit, but their employer can now remove them for misconduct or poor performance without the multi-step procedural protections that apply to most career civil servants. Federal agencies with covered positions are required to notify employees, update records, and establish new award pools within the deadlines set by the order.