About 8,000 federal employees have lost their civil service job protections under a new employment category called Schedule Policy/Career, according to an executive order signed by President Trump on June 3, 2026, that reclassifies senior policy-influencing positions in the federal government.
Under the new classification, reclassified employees are now considered “at-will” workers, meaning they can be fired more easily without the lengthy due process protections that career civil servants have long enjoyed. The Office of Personnel Management detailed the changes in guidance published June 8, 2026, explaining that agencies no longer need to institute performance improvement plans before terminating employees and can conduct discipline in “one-step actions” without advance notice.
Employees who get reclassified into Schedule Policy/Career are ineligible for the adverse action proceedings afforded to traditional career civil service members under federal law, and they cannot appeal their initial transfers into the new employment category. They also lose access to pay-based retention, recruitment, and relocation incentives, as well as student loan repayment options, according to OPM guidance.
History and Legal Challenges
Schedule Policy/Career is a revival of Schedule F, which was first proposed via executive order in October 2020 during Trump’s first administration but was never fully implemented before President Biden took office and rescinded it. The Trump administration reinstated the policy on January 20, 2025, and finalized the implementing rule on February 5, 2026, allowing agencies to begin reclassifying employees.
The policy has drawn fierce opposition from federal employee unions and civil rights organizations. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), and other unions have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the legality of the reclassification. “This action will undermine the effectiveness of the civil service in carrying out government operations on behalf of the American people,” said William Shackelford, national president of NARFE, which is among several organizations suing the Trump administration over Schedule Policy/Career.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley warned that the practical implications are stark: “Workers who once felt comfortable reporting waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement at their place of employment because they were protected from retaliation will now be afraid for their jobs if they speak out.” The Trump administration has said that whistleblower protections and prohibitions against unlawful personnel practices still apply, though the processes for reclassified employees differ from those for traditional career civil servants.
Sources
- Federal News Network — Details on OPM guidance regarding adverse action procedures, personnel changes, and union responses to Schedule Policy/Career
- NPR — Executive order details and confirmation of 8,000 federal workers affected
- The Washington Post — Reporting on Trump’s reclassification of approximately 8,000 senior federal workers
- Time Magazine — Information on the Schedule Policy/Career category and ease of termination
- Government Executive — Context on Schedule F history from October 2020 and the 2025 reinstatement
- AFGE — Union statements and lawsuit information regarding Schedule Policy/Career
