Saving the Civil Service Act

Summary#

This bill stops federal agencies from creating a new "schedule F" category in the excepted service. It says positions can only be excepted from the competitive service if they are placed in schedules A through E as those schedules existed on September 30, 2020. The bill limits transfers of jobs between the competitive and excepted services. Agencies must get prior consent from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before moving filled jobs into schedule C. During any four-year presidential term, an agency may not move more than one percent of its workforce (or five employees, whichever is greater) from the competitive service to the excepted service. The bill requires written consent from employees before moving them from competitive service to excepted service or between excepted-service schedules. It also says the OPM Director must write rules to carry out the law and defines key terms used in the section.

What it means for you#

• If you are a federal employee in the competitive service, this bill would bar your agency from moving your job into schedule F and would require your written consent before moving you into most excepted-service positions.
• Agencies would face numerical limits and OPM oversight on how many employees they can move into the excepted service during a presidential term.
• If you are an agency manager, you would need OPM approval to move occupied positions into certain excepted schedules and follow new consent and transfer limits.
• For members of the public, the bill aims to keep most federal jobs under the competitive hiring system that existed on September 30, 2020.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The bill’s title and text indicate supporters want to prevent creation of schedule F and to keep the federal competitive service rules in place. The bill sets limits on transfers and requires employee consent and OPM oversight.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.