A recent memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under the Trump administration has directed federal agencies to evaluate employees hired within the last year and emphasized that these workers can be terminated more easily. The memo highlights that employees in the competitive service with less than one year of service, and in the excepted service with less than two years of service, can be dismissed without triggering appeal rights through the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The memo, attributed to OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell, has requested agencies to submit a report by the end of the work week to determine whether these recently hired employees should be retained or let go. OPM, which functions as the human resources arm of the federal government, is overseeing this directive.
In addition, the memo informs agency heads that they have the authority to place employees on paid administrative leave if they intend to restructure their workforce. This move is part of broader efforts by the Trump administration and its supporters to reduce the size of the federal workforce, which includes strategies such as requiring employees to work from the office and relying on attrition as a means of downsizing.
