Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—OPM proposes further revisions to rules governing federal employees, (Feb 24, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Among other things, one of the proposed rules would remove the option for General Schedule employees to grieve a performance rating.

OPM has proposed two new rulemakings this week, adding to the growing list of changes the Trump administration is making to reshape the federal workforce.

General Schedule employees. One proposed rulemaking, RIN 3206-AP06, amends 5 CFR part 430 and, according to the notice, is intended to “increase the efficiency of performance management for non-Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, including General Schedule (GS) and prevailing rate employees.” The proposed rule would amend the approved patterns of summary levels by removing a “Level 2”; require agencies to undergo biennial appraisal system certifications with OPM; require a supervisory critical element for all supervisors covered under the subpart; remove the prohibition of a forced, or standardized, distribution of performance-rating levels; remove the option to grieve a performance rating; and remove the mandatory review of level 1 ratings.

Performance rating grievances. Regarding the new subsection 430.208(j), which would prohibit contesting performance ratings through union grievance arbitration, OPM argues that the grievance process generally provided under agency collective bargaining agreements “requires agencies to defend performance ratings in an often lengthy process that can involve considerable expense” and that this arbitration “creates duplicative processes, delays the finality of ratings of record, and diverts supervisory and agency resources from mission-critical activities, thereby undermining efficiency and timely accountability for performance outcomes.” The notice also faults the current process for involving grievance arbitrators who are “in almost all cases private citizens” whom OPM contends are “not well equipped to evaluate the accuracy or appropriateness of specific performance ratings.”

“Importantly,” the notice adds, “the proposed revisions preserve appropriate due process protections by continuing to allow changes to ratings of record when a formal proceeding permitted by law or regulation results in a final determination by an appropriate authority that the rating must be changed, or when a change is effected as part of a bona fide settlement of such a formal proceeding. They would also allow employees to request informal reconsideration of their rating.”

Comments on this proposed rulemaking must be received on or before March 26, 2026.

Senior professional cohorts. In the other rulemaking, RIN 3206-AO88, OPM and OMB propose to revise the rules governing the performance appraisal of senior level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) employees, collectively referred to as “senior professionals.” The rulemaking would establish a new subpart specifically dedicated to senior professional performance appraisal. The new subpart, the notice contends, would align more closely with the SES performance appraisal regulations, eliminate senior professional appraisal programs, remove the prohibition of a forced distribution of performance rating levels, and enhance oversight.

Specifically, one of the changes being proposed would eliminate a prohibition on standardized distributions (OPM is also eliminating use of the term “forced distribution”) and allow OPM to establish a standardized distribution of some or all rating levels for agencies to apply with respect to senior professional cohorts. OPM “believes that this will ensure that senior professionals can be compared across government, without regard to the particular practices of performance ratings within specific agencies or the particular practices of specific managers. It will also help agencies to better identify, and reward, truly outstanding performers than under the current system, under which nearly 90% of senior professionals receive the highest two performance ratings, and will also help agencies identify and address poor performance, as very few senior professionals receive the lowest performance ratings.”

Comments on this proposed rulemaking also must be received on or before March 26, 2026.

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