The Office of Personnel Management released a final rule anticipated to convert approximately 50,000 career civil servants into a new category of “Schedule Policy/Career” positions that would no longer carry traditional civil service job protections. Employees reclassified under the new schedule could be removed by political appointees and replaced without violating civil service laws, with agencies recommending positions for conversion and the final determinations made by the President through executive order. The rule is expected to primarily affect career officials who draft, edit, interpret, or influence policy, including senior leadership, regional directors, and heads of operating units across cabinet departments and independent agencies.
At labor agencies, the change could significantly affect components within the Department of Labor—including OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration—as well as the National Labor Relations Board, where career attorneys, policy staff, and regional leadership play a central role in shaping regulatory interpretation and enforcement priorities.