OPM: Schedule Policy/Career Employees Barred from Loan Repayment, Most Incentive Pay

More implications for federal employees reclassified into the new Schedule Policy/Career category.

Not only will they lose civil service protections, but Schedule Policy/Career employees will lose access to additional benefits. New guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says that employees in Schedule Policy/Career positions will not be eligible for loan repayment options, and cannot receive recruitment, retention, or relocation incentives in most cases. They’re also ineligible for the Presidential Rank Awards (PRAs), which honor career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES). 

This aligns Schedule Policy/Career employees with Schedule C employees and political appointees who also do not receive such benefits. 

Pay Impact

OPM says existing agreements on pay incentives for reclassified employees can continue “under limited circumstances.” Schedule Policy/Career employees are still eligible for monetary incentives like performance awards, severance pay, and “critical position” pay. 

Employees may continue to be represented by labor unions unless their broader agency is removed from collective bargaining.

Existing health insurance and leave policies do not change. 

Management Guidance

OPM also issued guidance on how to manage employees that are reclassified into the new category. 

The document stresses that “Schedule P/C positions are at-will unless an exception applies under civil service rules or other legal authority. Standard appeal rights for performance-based or adverse actions do not apply, but employees still benefit from protections under agency policies.”

Managers “still need to set clear expectations, give feedback, and document performance and conduct” but they also “may have more flexibility to address poor fit or performance, but decisions must focus on performance, conduct, or job or mission-related factors, consistent with agency policy.”

Schedule Policy/Career takes effect March 8.

Reclassifying specific positions will require further executive action after OPM reviews agency recommendations. About 50,000 federal employees could be affected.