Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Government Worker Protections — Week of Dec 29, 2025
Are career government workers protected from being fired for political reasons? 'Schedule F' is a rule that could let the President fire thousands of workers who aren't loyal to him.
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New Rule Would Move Federal Employee Appeals from Independent Board to White House Office
On December 30, the Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule called Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals that would change how newer federal workers can challenge being fired. Currently, employees terminated during their probationary period can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent body created by Congress in 1978 to keep politics out of hiring and firing decisions. Under the new rule, those appeals would instead go to OPM — an office that answers directly to the President. The rule also significantly limits what employees can claim: only partisan political discrimination or marital status discrimination would be allowed, and employees could not raise other civil rights claims. Hearings would be eliminated in favor of paper reviews.
This might matter because the MSPB exists specifically to ensure federal workers are judged on their performance rather than their political views. Moving the power to decide firing disputes into a White House office could weaken the independent check that protects the professional civil service from political interference — a protection Congress deliberately created after decades of patronage abuses.
There are alternative explanations to consider. Most likely, this reflects a genuine effort to simplify an appeals process for employees who are still in a trial period and have historically had fewer protections than permanent staff. Probationary periods are meant to give agencies flexibility, and some streamlining may be reasonable. Additionally, the rule follows the normal public comment process — comments are open until January 29, 2026 — and courts would likely still be able to review final decisions. That said, the combination of moving appeals away from an independent board, restricting what claims can be made, and eliminating hearings together represents a significant cumulative reduction in protections for a large group of federal workers.
Limitations: This assessment is based on a single proposed rule that may change before it becomes final. This is AI-generated analysis, not a finding of fact.