Members of the Democrat Party in the United States House of Representatives have moved quickly to block President Donald Trump’s recent Executive Order reclassifying elements of the Public Service to make it easier to hire and fire Federal employees.
The Democrats have introduced legislation which would halt the introduction of Schedule F, a new classification of career Federal employees in certain key roles.
Critics, including the sponsors of the legislation, say the Executive Order is an assault on long-standing Public Service protections.
Gerry Connolly (pictured), one of the sponsors, described Schedule F as a “last ditch attempt by the Trump Administration to make it easier to remove Federal employees who they deem aren’t ‘loyal enough’ to the President and return us to patronage politics”.
Jobs eligible for reclassification under Schedule F include, but aren’t limited to, roles determining policy or regulations, posts involving the supervising of Attorneys and roles in Agency Executive Directorates.
In addition to blocking the use of funds for implementation of Schedule F, the Democrat legislation would require any converted positions or appointments to be moved back to the competitive service.
It would also reinstate with back-pay of anyone who was fired after being converted to Schedule F.
Under the Executive Order, Agencies have until 19 January, one day before the presidential inauguration, to complete initial review of their position descriptions and submit recommendations for reclassification to Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
In a separate development, the National Treasury Employees Union is suing President Trump and Acting Director of the OPM, Michael Rigas in an effort to block the order.
Washington, 30 October 2020
