FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Matt Dorsey
(202) 550-6987
April 4, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) applauds the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for publishing regulations aimed at protecting the career civil service from corruption and undue political influence. The regulations were issued in response to “Schedule F,” a job category created by a former presidential administration in which federal employees would be reclassified into positions without the civil service protections that keep government honest, transparent, and accountable.
“These regulations are critical for protecting the civil service as well as American democracy,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “Schedule F would grant authority to the president and their appointees to hire, fire, and convert career employees to an unprotected job category without consideration for the merit system principles that govern the civil service. Schedule F would also allow presidential appointees to install individuals into the federal government based on political loyalty rather than experience and expertise.
“We cannot let any presidential administration place political hacks into positions of influence over government services. This will lead to systematic impediments to transparency and accountability within the federal civil service, thereby enabling outsized control of the Executive Branch for personal or political gain. The American people must be able to depend on the federal government for essential services, which means we must also maintain an apolitical civil service led by experienced professionals who are hired based on merit, not political loyalty or personal ideology.
“Thank you to Director Kiran Ahuja, Deputy Director Rob Shriver, and OMB Deputy Director Jason Miller for their commitment to ensuring that the career civil service remains accountable to the American people and not to a political despot or party.”