President Trump signed Executive Order 14410 on June 3, 2026, creating a new “Schedule Policy/Career” category in the excepted service and directing agencies to identify positions that could be moved into it. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) followed with implementation guidance on June 8, telling agencies how to designate roles, update personnel systems, and notify affected employees, according to Serving Those Who Serve.
- What changed: Executive Order 14410 establishes “Schedule Policy/Career” as a new excepted service category.
- Key dates: EO signed June 3, 2026; OPM guidance issued June 8, 2026, per Serving Those Who Serve.
- Scope: The order could affect thousands of federal positions, depending on how agencies apply OPM’s criteria, Serving Those Who Serve reported.
- Agency actions required: OPM’s memo directs agencies to review positions, document the basis for designation, and process personnel actions consistent with the new schedule, according to the report.
- Employee notifications: Agencies are instructed to notify employees when positions are moved into the new category and to provide information on the resulting appointment status, Serving Those Who Serve said.
- Hiring and staffing impact: By placing jobs in an excepted service schedule, agencies may use different hiring and appointment authorities than competitive service processes, depending on the role and agency implementation.
- What remains unchanged: The EO and memo do not automatically change pay tables or locality rates; impacts are expected to center on appointment status, mobility, and protections tied to competitive vs. excepted service.
Brief context: Excepted service positions sit outside many competitive service hiring rules and can carry different requirements for recruitment, qualification standards, and movement between agencies. The new “Schedule Policy/Career” category adds another lane within the excepted service framework. Serving Those Who Serve reported that OPM’s June 8 memo is intended to standardize implementation across agencies, including how positions are identified and coded in HR systems.
What to watch: If your position is reviewed for redesignation, ask your HR office how the change affects your appointment type, probationary or trial periods, reassignment/competitive procedures, and any agency-specific policies tied to excepted service status. For employees weighing whether to stay or retire amid workforce changes, it can help to estimate benefits using a FERS retirement calculator.
Source: Serving Those Who Serve