I’ve been looking at my crystal ball to see the future of the federal civil service, and while some changes are clearer than others, I’m sure other changes are coming across the entire workforce. Here’s what I see:

Fewer Protections

Congress and the administration are discussing eliminating employee protections under the Civil Service Reform Act, other statutes, and case law.

One change would have a new employee decide to be either an at-will worker or pay for the protections already enjoyed by existing employees. Similar action has begun eliminating protections for current employees, making them at-will employees.

This would allow employees to be dismissed without any protection or possibly any appeal avenues.

Suitability Rules

Agencies must conduct a suitability review for new hires to determine whether the person has anything in their past that might prevent employment.

Once hired, suitability is no longer a consideration unless the employee does something that violates a standard. If so, the agency can hold the person accountable under existing laws and regulations.

There is a proposal to allow agencies to use suitability rules to hold current employees accountable. As proposed, it would eliminate several protections in place for these workers.

More Changes to Know

• Changes to the hiring process include limiting résumés to two pages and eliminating the self-assessment many agencies use when candidates apply for a job. Agencies are also expected to reduce hiring time to 80 days. Most hiring process changes will take effect Oct. 1.
  
  
• Changes are also coming to how the government will hold employees accountable for poor performance or misconduct. The changes aim to speed up the process and eliminate individuals from federal service when appropriate.
  
  
• Changes for the Senior Executive Service (SES) include eliminating the 10-page Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) paper, replacing the paper with meaningful interviews of applicants, adding additional interview requirements, and changing the Office of Personnel Management’s Qualification Review Board (QRB) process, though the QRB will continue. The SES ECQs are also changing, though they have much in common with existing ECQs.

Upcoming executive orders affecting federal service are likely, and with them will come more changes to the hiring and employment process. At the moment, my crystal ball is completely smoke-filled when it comes to predicting these.

Find the latest updates at MOAA’s Federal Job Resources page.