On April 4, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published the final rule to reinforce and clarify protections for a non-partisan career civil service. The Federal Managers Association (FMA) supports the new rules and submitted comments during the rulemaking process. FMA National President Craig Carter made the following comments upon publication of the final rule:

“On behalf of the managers and supervisors currently serving our nation in the federal government, and whose interests are represented by the Federal Managers Association, we are pleased for the implementation of the new rules clarifying and protecting the longstanding merit-based system governing our civil service. FMA commented in favor of the proposed rule and the effort to reinforce and clarify important civil service protections for federal employees who may shift from the competitive service to the excepted service, or from one excepted service schedule to another.

“As we have said throughout the process, a hallmark of America’s civil service is the foundational, fundamental understanding that federal employees swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution and provide services to all Americans, regardless of political party. The federal government cannot function effectively without this nonpolitical civil service capable of preserving institutional memory and competence across administrations. Dating back to the Pendleton Act of 1883, which ended the spoils system, America’s civil service has been governed by statutes and rules aimed at preserving a federal employee’s right to due process, as protected by the Constitution. The result is the American people have a highly educated, professional civil service that can be counted on, without fail, to deliver crucial services, no matter what the politics of the day may bring.

“The new rule is aligned with that goal and further ensures necessary safeguards for the civil service. FMA supports these principles, protections and clarifications as finalized."