Government won’t ‘get the same quality of folks’ for tech work under Trump policy, experts say

The Trump administration’s move to resurrect the federal worker classification formerly known as Schedule F is raising alarm bells among sources familiar with the inner workings of the Office of Personnel Management, particularly with regard to the chilling effect it could have on the recruitment of tech talent. 

In an executive order issued last week and guidance from OPM released Monday, the Trump administration outlined a revitalization of Schedule F, now referred to as Schedule Policy/Career, which turns civil servants who are in policy-influencing decisions into “at-will” employees. Monday’s guidance echoes President Donald Trump’s executive order by establishing that OPM will provide additional categories of positions that executive departments and agencies should “consider recommending for Schedule Policy/Career.”

An OPM final rule in April that looked to reinforce protections and merit system principles for career civil servants was partially nullified in the new guidance. Additionally, the guidance made clear that the executive order “broadly directs OPM to rescind these regulatory amendments.”

One source familiar with the inner workings of OPM said in an interview with FedScoop that it’s possible that the “stability” of government work and “the mission” drive that comes with it all “could be impacted.” 

“It’d be a position that pays less without all these benefits,” the source continued. “I think there’s a clear potential connection between this policy and a reduction in appeal for a job like that.”

For workers with IT, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, or other technology-related backgrounds, the impact could be especially pronounced. 

“As we’ve seen, the tech world has been quite interested in the federal government over the past few weeks and months,” the source said. “Unclear how these jobs will develop, whether they’re going to be retained or whether they’re going to be contracted out.”

Recruitment

Without a mission drive or the stability of a federal job, the source said it’s likely that it will be more challenging for the federal government to recruit the best talent into agency work. 

“The types of people who will be coming in may not be the best of the pool, because you’re going to have to compromise by saying … ‘jump into this for lower pay,’” the source said. “You’re not going to get the same quality of folks if you don’t have … the mission drive or the sense of a nonpartisan, stable workplace.”

A different source familiar with the inner workings of OPM stated clearly that the Schedule Policy/Career directive is another avenue where the Trump administration could take the broadest view of flexibilities and authorities.

The source directed attention to the federal government’s recent efforts to hire chief artificial intelligence officers under the Biden administration’s AI executive order. That could fit into the new schedule determination for civil servants. 

Jenny Mattingley, Partnership for Public Service’s vice president of government affairs, said the language in Trump’s executive order makes it unclear to whom the classification directly applies. But the creation of Schedule Policy/Career, she said, is clearly a way to create more politically appointed workers. 

“We pointed out a number of times that when you start removing protections, you’re basically creating another category of political appointees who come and go at the pleasure of the president,” Mattingley said. 

She continued: “It makes it really hard to focus on long term. When you think about modernization efforts, when you think about trying to scale and use AI, those are long term, [and] they need longer-term investments. … Creating more of a swirl with people turning over does impact, I think, technologists in the work they’re trying to do, because it’s not a one-year project, necessarily.”

The guidance

OPM’s guidance on implementing the Schedule Policy/Career executive order outlines civil service positions that are described as important to policy creation or determination functions. Those positions are defined as those that are held accountable for the success of at least one program or project, directors of organization units, and those who monitor progress towards organizational goals.

Additional duties that would qualify a position for the Schedule Policy/Career classification include those advocating for policies and future appropriations before different government entities or publicly advocating for the policies of an agency or of the administration.

The executive order “directs each agency head to review positions within his or her agency and identify those appropriately categorized as policy-influencing,” according to the guidance. 

As set out by the guidance, agencies have 90 days to conduct preliminary reviews of positions and submit petitions to OPM for recommending positions to put into Schedule Policy/Career, and an additional 120 days to finalize reviews and submit any remaining petitions. The administration encourages agencies to submit petitions on a rolling basis.