Last Updated: June 12, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min
On June 3, 2026, an executive order moved roughly 8,000 federal positions into Schedule Policy/Career, stripping their civil service protections and making them effectively at-will. The White House published the full list as a 229-page appendix, so for the first time you can check whether your own job is on it. Here is the exact step-by-step to find out, and what it means if your position is there.
What Just Happened (the Short Version)
Schedule Policy/Career is the successor to what was proposed as "Schedule F." It pulls covered positions out of the competitive service and into the excepted service, which removes the appeal and notice protections that career federal employees normally have. The June 3 order didn't just create the category; it named about 8,000 specific positions and made the change effective immediately.
This post is the practical "is it me, and what do I do" guide. For the full rule, the benefits impact, and the lawsuits, see our companions: Schedule Policy/Career and Your Benefits and the Schedule F Employee Guide.
The 4,800 vs 8,000 Gap Nobody Explains
Here is the detail that trips people up, and the one most news coverage skips.
The appendix lists roughly 4,800 position description (PD) codes. The White House says roughly 8,000 employees are affected. Both numbers are right, because they count different things. A single PD code can be held by many employees. At a large agency, one generic "GS-15 Program Manager" or "GS-15 Attorney Advisor" description might cover three, five, or ten people.
The appendix lists about 4,800 position descriptions. The White House says about 8,000 employees are affected. The gap is multiple employees sharing a single PD code. 4,800 PDs does not mean 4,800 people.
The appendix does not publish per-PD headcounts, so the true number sits somewhere around 8,000 or higher, and you can't tell from the document how many of your colleagues share your code. What you can tell is a clean yes or no for your own position.
How to Check If Your Position Is on the List
This is the part the news articles leave out. It takes about 20 minutes.
Step 1: Get your most recent SF-50
Your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) is your official employment record. You want the latest one.
- eOPF: eopf.opm.gov is the central federal HR self-service system. Some agencies (many DoD components) use their own HR portal instead.
- Your own files: any recent promotion, step increase, or pay adjustment notice is an SF-50.
- Ask HR: if you can't get into eOPF, request your most recent SF-50 directly.
Step 2: Find your Position Description (PD) number
On the SF-50, look for the field labeled "Position Description Number" (commonly Box 22, though the label matters more than the box). The PD number is the standalone number before any dash-separated sequence, often 5 to 8 digits, sometimes with an agency prefix.
Can't find it? Ask HR directly: "What is my current position description number?" You're entitled to that.
Step 3: Download the White House appendix
The appendix is public: the 229-page PDF is organized by agency and sub-component.
Step 4: Search by agency, then by PD number
- Use Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) to find your agency's name first.
- Inside your agency's section, search for your PD number.
- If your PD number appears under your agency, your position is covered.
Step 5: Confirm with HR either way
PD formats vary by agency, so if your number doesn't appear, that is not proof you're exempt. It could be a formatting difference. Agencies were required to notify affected employees within 7 days of June 3, and that deadline expired around June 10-11. If you haven't been told anything by now, ask HR for written confirmation of your service designation. Reclassification shows up as a change in appointment type on your SF-50, not as a new salary or title, so it's easy to miss unless you look.
What the June 8-9 OPM Guidance Added
OPM followed the executive order with implementation guidance on June 8-9, and the Federal Register published the full implementing order on June 10. Four details matter if your position is on the list:
1. Removals are now one-step actions. The guidance confirms that Chapter 75 adverse action procedures and Chapter 43 performance procedures no longer apply. An agency can separate a reclassified employee with written notice alone: no 30-day advance notice, no reply period, no MSPB appeal. OPM also gave agencies template notice letters and "discouraged" them from "applying predetermined notions of appropriate penalties," so traditional tables of penalties no longer constrain outcomes. The notice must state whether the action is misconduct- or performance-based, and that label can decide your severance eligibility on its own.
2. You may be asked to sign an acknowledgment document. OPM gave agencies a template for employees to sign acknowledging their at-will status, and agencies are distributing it the week of June 9-13. Two things to know: refusing to sign does not stop the reclassification from taking effect, and per OPM's guidance, refusal should not trigger an adverse action. You can ask for a copy and time to review before signing anything. Full sign-or-refuse breakdown, including how this form differs from the separate OPM NDA proposal, in our acknowledgment form guide.
3. Pay incentives are gone too. Reclassified employees lose eligibility for recruitment, retention, and relocation incentives (the "3Rs") and agency-paid student loan repayment. The exception: if you already had a signed service agreement in place before reclassification, it stays.
4. There's a new bonus pool. The same order created a dedicated performance bonus pool for Schedule Policy/Career employees, a benefit competitive-service employees at the same grade don't automatically get. OPM is also required to create a Presidential award program exclusively for P/C employees. That's the carrot. The lost protections above are the price.
5. RIF bumping rights are scoped to P/C positions only. P/C employees keep reduction-in-force assignment rights "on the same basis as competitive service employees," but only into other Schedule P/C positions, not back into the competitive service. With roughly 8,000 P/C positions government-wide, the realistic landing zone in a RIF is small.
Agencies were also instructed to update position descriptions, HR systems, and SF-50s, which is why checking your eOPF for a new SF-50 is the most reliable confirmation.
Which Agencies Are Hit Hardest
Per Federal News Network's analysis of the appendix (the appendix itself publishes no totals), the codes concentrate at a handful of agencies:
| Agency | Approx. PD codes |
|---|---|
| Defense | 1,600+ |
| Homeland Security | ~571 |
| Health and Human Services | ~400 |
| Treasury | ~223 |
| Commerce | ~172 |
| Interior | ~158 |
| OMB (includes GS-13/14) | ~137 |
| Veterans Affairs | ~120 |
| Justice | ~120 |
| Transportation | ~120 |
| All others combined | ~700+ |
Source: Federal News Network analysis of the White House appendix, June 2026. Approximate; not official OPM figures.
What You Lose, and What You Keep
If your position is reclassified, the change to your protections is immediate.
| Protection lost | What it meant |
|---|---|
| MSPB appeal rights | The right to challenge a firing, suspension, or demotion before an independent board |
| 30-day advance notice | Required notice before an adverse action |
| Right to reply | The chance to respond to a proposed removal |
| OSC whistleblower routing | Complaints now route through your agency's general counsel, a political appointee |
| Student loan repayment | Up to $10,000/year under 5 CFR Part 537 (unless a service agreement was already signed) |
| Recruitment, retention, and relocation incentives | The "3Rs" pay incentives, per OPM's June 2026 guidance (existing service agreements honored) |
| You keep |
|---|
| FERS pension (annuity keeps accruing while employed) |
| FEHB health insurance and the 5-year retirement rule |
| TSP contributions and the agency match |
| Severance pay eligibility for an involuntary separation |
| EEOC discrimination complaint rights |
The whistleblower statute (5 USC 2302(b)(8)) still exists on paper, but routing enforcement through agency counsel creates a structural conflict that the lawsuits are challenging.
If You're On the List, and If You're Not
On the list: you were reclassified as of June 3. Check your eOPF for an updated SF-50 showing the move to excepted service. If you might be separated, know your numbers ahead of time. Use our Severance Pay Calculator to estimate a payout (note: if you're eligible for an immediate retirement annuity, severance generally doesn't apply), and the FERS Calculator to see your pension at different retirement ages.
Not on the list: you keep full protections for now, but the order lets agency heads petition OPM to add positions, and plaintiffs argue there's no stated limit on future rounds. The roles most likely to be added next: GS-14 and GS-15 policy-adjacent jobs, senior advisors, legislative affairs, communications, budget analysis, and labor/employee relations specialists. Four organizations (AFGE, NTEU, PEER, and the Government Accountability Project) have sued; as of June 2026 no court had blocked implementation, though that could change quickly.
If your self-check turns up items to update (resume, LinkedIn, professional bio), the photo is the fastest one to knock out. It's the first thing a hiring manager or contact sees. FedShot — government headshots in 60 seconds generates professional federal-workplace headshots from a phone photo: 6 free previews, no subscription, results in 60 seconds.
Know Your Number Before You Need It
If your position is on the list, the worst time to learn what you're owed is the day you're walked out. Use our free Severance Pay Calculator to model your potential payout by years of service, age, and salary, so you're not guessing under pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my position was reclassified into Schedule Policy/Career?
Check the public White House appendix (a 229-page PDF). Find your position description (PD) number on your SF-50, then search the appendix for your agency and that PD number. Your agency was also required to notify you within 7 days of the June 3, 2026 order, so if you haven't heard from HR, ask for written confirmation of your current service designation.
The appendix lists 4,800 PD codes, but the White House says 8,000 employees. Which is right?
Both, because they measure different things. The appendix contains about 4,800 position description codes, but one PD code can cover several employees. A "GS-15 Program Manager" description at a large agency might apply to three, five, or ten people. The roughly 8,000 figure is the estimated headcount. The appendix does not publish per-PD employee counts, so the exact total can't be verified from the public document.
What rights do I lose if my position is on the list?
The biggest losses are your MSPB appeal rights, your 30-day advance notice before termination, your right to reply to a proposed removal, and direct access to the Office of Special Counsel for whistleblower complaints. You also lose the agency-paid student loan repayment benefit. You keep your FERS pension, FEHB, TSP, EEOC complaint rights, and severance pay eligibility for an involuntary separation.
If my position is NOT on the list, am I safe from future reclassification?
Not permanently. The order lets agency heads petition OPM to add positions, and OPM's director can recommend expansion to the President. Positions most likely to be added later are GS-14 and GS-15 policy-adjacent roles: senior advisors, legislative affairs, communications, budget analysis, and labor/employee relations specialists.
If I'm reclassified and then separated, am I still eligible for severance?
Usually yes for an involuntary separation, but with caveats. Schedule Policy/Career employees keep federal severance eligibility, but you generally cannot collect severance if you're eligible for an immediate retirement annuity, and a separation classified as performance or misconduct may not qualify. Model your potential payout with our Severance Calculator and confirm the separation type in writing with HR.
Do I have to sign the Schedule Policy/Career acknowledgment document?
No. OPM gave agencies a template document asking reclassified employees to acknowledge their at-will status. Refusing to sign does not stop the reclassification from taking effect, and OPM's guidance indicates refusal should not trigger an adverse action. If you're asked to sign, you can request a copy and time to review it first. One nuance for job seekers: for new hires into P/C positions, OPM calls signing "crucial" but has not stated what happens if an applicant declines.
Is the acknowledgment form the same as the OPM NDA?
No. The acknowledgment form applies only to the ~8,000 reclassified employees and confirms the at-will change that already happened. The OPM NDA (Federal Register Doc. 2026-10471) is a separate, proposed, government-wide form covering confidential information; it applies to all federal employees and is still in its comment period through June 26, 2026. If the document in front of you mentions confidentiality or non-public information, it's not the P/C acknowledgment. See our acknowledgment form guide for the full comparison.
Related Resources
- Schedule P/C Acknowledgment Form: Sign or Refuse?: What the form does, what refusing does, and how it differs from the NDA
- Schedule Policy/Career and Your Benefits: What reclassification does to your FEHB, TSP, and pension
- Schedule F Employee Guide: The underlying rule framework and the lawsuits
- Severance Pay Calculator: Estimate your payout if you're separated
- FERS Retirement Calculator: See your pension at different retirement ages
This article is general information, not legal advice. If your position has been reclassified and you're facing an adverse action, consult a federal employment attorney. Sources: White House Executive Order, White House Appendix (PDF), OPM implementation guidance memo (PDF), Federal Register 2026-11594, Federal News Network, FedSmith, GovExec, OPM Schedule Policy/Career. Agency PD counts are FNN estimates; legal-challenge status is as of June 2026 and may change.