Schedule F, Telework in Spotlight at OPM Oversight Hearing

The new acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Rob Shriver was hauled before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for a hearing on the agency’s performance and policies.

The hearing looked at whether OPM is “accomplishing core tasks and prioritizing agency performance over the demands of federal workers and federal employee unions.”

Two topics dominated the hearing: telework and OPM’s efforts to guard against a return of Schedule F, the Trump-era policy that would reclassify large amounts of civil servants as at-will employees and make them easier to fire.

Schedule F

Committee Republicans made their support of Schedule F known from the get-go.

“I support Schedule F, because I do believe federal employees—especially those with significant ability to influence whether an administration’s policies do, or don’t, get implemented—should be held to account,” said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in his opening remarks.

In response to various questions, Acting OPM Director Shriver fired back, saying that Schedule F would have a “chilling effect” on career federal employees.

“That takes us back to the 1800s, when we had a spoils system, when there was massive turnover among federal workers with any new election that changed. The people that were hired were hired based on their loyalty to that particular candidate. And I think that unchecked, a policy like Schedule F could open the door to a return to that,” said Acting Director Shriver.

The hearing comes just weeks after OPM published a final rule that aims to block the return Schedule F under a future administration.

Telework

On the topic of telework, which has seen numerous hearings on Capitol Hill, Acting Director Shriver pointed to a report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that showed that federal employees are returning to the office at a faster pace than private sector counterparts.

“Did you say that federal employees got back to work quicker than in the private sector?” asked Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI).

“It’s not what I believe; it’s a CBO report and I’m happy to share it with you,” said Acting Director Shriver. “And it’s important to note that 54% of federal workers don’t telework at all.”

Other members of the committee peppered Acting Director Shriver on telework’s impact on productivity.

Acting Director Shriver noted that telework is not a new concept to the federal workforce.

“For many, many years prior to the pandemic, the federal government was able to have people that could spend some of their time working in an alternative location,” said Acting Director Shriver.

Other topics discussed include whether federal employees were violating rules when protesting the war in Gaza. On May 15, dozens of federal employees gathered outside the White House on Nakba Remembrance Day, which commemorates Palestinian displacement.

To that, the OPM Acting Director said, “OPM sets the rules, and then agencies follow and implement the rules. And with respect to questions around leave, or the Hatch Act, those are always matters that are taken up as a management matter at an agency.”