Probationary Employees Face Tougher Review Process After Executive Order

The Trump Administration is tightening the requirements for federal employees on probation to keep their jobs and convert to permanent status. 

In a new executive order, President Trump created a new rule called “Civil Service Rule XI.” The rule will require agencies to review and actively sign off on the continued employment of probationary workers. That means federal employees will no longer automatically transition to permanent status once the probation period is over. 

“Instead of these employees becoming tenured civil servants by default, Rule XI requires agencies to affirmatively certify that finalizing their appointment after their probationary or trial period concludes advances the public interest,” said a White House fact sheet. 

Currently, probationary employees achieve tenure through passage of time and not a decision of their manager. 

“As a result of this failure to remove poor performers, agencies have often retained and given tenure to underperforming employees who should have been screened out during their probationary period,” stated the executive order. 

The executive order expands removal reasons to include whether the continued employment will advance agency mission or public interest. It also creates an individualized review process, where employees will meet with a designee from agency leadership to discuss continued employment at least 60 days before the probationary period is over. 

While regulations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are expected within 30 days, the White House says the interim rule is in effect immediately. 

Administration Touts 2005 MSPB Report

In the announcement, the administration pointed to a 2005 report from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) that recommended a process where a probationary employee does not automatically become a permanent employee.  

Federal manager associations and the Government Managers Coalition have advocated for years to update the probationary clearance process.

And it comes as the Trump Administration has tried to fire thousands of employees on probation, with the issue tied up in the courts.

Former MSPB member Raymond Limon told Federal News Network that the executive order may be an effort to find another vehicle to fire probationers. 

“While they continue to litigate a loser of an argument before the courts that they had the authority to do this, they’re now backtracking and saying, ‘Well, fine, we’ll go ahead and change the purpose of the probationary period to make it easier to remove employees,’” said Limon.