By Mary Kuntz and Samantha Sloane
What is Schedule Policy/Career (“Schedule P/C”)?
Created by President Trump’s Executive Order 14171, Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce (“E.O. 14171”), Schedule P/C is a new federal employment category in the excepted service for career positions “of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.” Previously, this description was used to designate non-career political appointees. The Office of Personnel Management’s (“OPM”) final rule implementing E.O. 14171 vastly expands how policy-influencing positions are designated, permitting agencies to place career competitive service positions that are deemed “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating” in the excepted service under Schedule P/C.
How Does Being Reclassified as Schedule P/C Affect My Rights as a Federal Employee?
What Rights Are Lost?
Competitive service employees who are moved into Schedule P/C will effectively become at-will employees, losing certain due process rights, including the right to advance written notice and to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”) a suspension for more than 14 days, removal, reduction in grade or pay, or a furlough of 30 days or less. Schedule P/C employees will also lose their statutory protection under 5 U.S.C. § 2302 to bring a prohibited personnel practice claim to the Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”).
Employees who had competitive status, i.e., were not probationary, before being reclassified to Schedule P/C will retain their competitive status but will no longer occupy a competitive service position. There is no change in rights for probationary employees who are moved into Schedule P/C, as probationary employees do not have the due process protections afforded to career federal employees in the competitive service.
In addition, Schedule P/C employees are ineligible for several benefits, including:
- Student loan repayment (unless eligible under a pre-existing service agreement);
- Recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives (unless under a pre-existing service agreement or, for an employee receiving a retention incentive without a service agreement at the time of their reclassification to Schedule P/C, only until the agency terminates the incentive under conditions specified at 5 C.F.R. § 525.311);
- Presidential Rank Awards for senior career employees.
OPM has indicated its intent to exclude Schedule P/C employees from collective bargaining units.
What Rights Are Retained?
Schedule P/C employees retain the right to pursue employment discrimination claims, e.g., on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and/or disability, through the Equal Employment Opportunity process.
In lieu of the statutory right under 5 U.S.C. § 2302 to challenge a prohibited personnel practice, E.O. 14171 requires agencies to establish rules prohibiting the same prohibited personnel practices described in § 2302(b), including whistleblower reprisal, political discrimination, and coercion of political activity, to be investigated and adjudicated by the agency itself. The agency’s decision on such a complaint will be final and not subject to review.
Can I Appeal My Schedule P/C Reassignment to the MSPB?
No. Although the MSPB has the authority to review OPM regulations and their implementation, the MSPB issued a final rule, effective March 9, 2026, amending its regulations to remove paragraph (a)(12) of Section 1201.3: its authority to hear an appeal or claim of an action related to placement or movement into an excepted service position without civil service protections. This amendment reflects OPM’s rescission of these appeal rights.
What Happens If I Do Not Sign the Acknowledgment That My Position Moved Into Schedule P/C?
According to OPM guidance, agencies should not take administrative action against an employee for refusing to sign an acknowledgment that their position has been reclassified to Schedule P/C. Such an acknowledgment is not necessary, however, for the reclassification to take effect.
Are There Pending Legal Challenges to Schedule P/C?
Yes! Unions and advocacy groups have been litigating the E.O. in federal court since early 2025 and are now challenging OPM’s implementing regulations:
- In Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Trump, Case No. 8:25-cv-00260-PX (D. Md.), PEER, joined by AFGE, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and AFGE Local 1923, argues that E.O. 14171 is unlawful because it exceeds the President’s authority under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (“CSRA”), purports to deprive federal employees of property rights without due process required by the Fifth Amendment, and requires federal agencies to violate the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”); and that OPM’s implementing regulations are arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.
- In National Treasury Employees Union v. Donald J. Trump, Case No. 1:25-cv-00170-JMC (D.D.C), NTEU argues that E.O. 14171 lacks administrative necessity, deprives federal employees of accrued due process rights, and improperly redefines what constitutes a “confidential, policy-making, policy-advocating or policy determining” position. NTEU further contends that the E.O.’s implementation is unlawful because it rescinds prior OPM regulations without following proper rulemaking procedures. NTEU is amending its lawsuit to include challenges to OPM’s newly finalized regulations.
- In Government Accountability Project v. Office of Personnel Management, Case No. 1:25-cv-00347-PLF (D.D.C), GAP and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association argue that E.O. 14171 deprives career federal employees of their property interest in continued employment without due process in violation of the Fifth Amendment; violates the CSRA, which provides job protections to career federal employees and limits at-will employment to political appointees; and violates the APA by declaring unenforceable duly promulgated provisions without going through the formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process.
What Can I Do to Protect My Rights?
Affected federal employees can share information about their reclassification to Schedule P/C with Democracy Forward, counsel for the plaintiffs in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Trump. The Impacted Federal Workers Data Collection can be found here. This information will aid and inform Democracy Forward’s response to these actions, including their pursuing potential legal remedies.
If your position has been moved to Schedule P/C and you need legal advice or representation regarding an adverse employment action, KCNF may be able to help you. Contact us here for a consultation.