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OPM reopens for two weeks public comment on proposed federal employee accountability rule
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has reopened public comment on a rule proposed in July. As published in the Federal Register, the agency added newly released data and is also seeking input on a report from We the Doers.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, has reopened through September 29 the public comment period on a proposed rule dealing with poor performance, misconduct and other employment actions across the federal government.
According to the notice published in the Federal Register, the original comment period for the proposal issued on July 2, 2026, closed on August 3, but has now been reopened for two weeks so the public can respond to newly released OPM data and to an August 27 report from the nongovernmental organization We the Doers.
The proposed rule was jointly issued by OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board, or MSPB. It covers performance-based reductions in grade and removals, non-disciplinary separations, adverse actions, MSPB review of those actions, and changes involving training for supervisors.
OPM said the new data shows that, despite changes pushed by President Donald Trump in how federal agencies handle poor performance and misconduct, the federal government did not see significant increases in performance-based or adverse actions in fiscal year 2026. The agency said the number and types of actions in that period appear to be consistent with fiscal year 2025 levels.
The agency also said the released information comes from its Enterprise Human Resources Integration system and includes agency-reported records on separations and terminations under regulations affected by the proposal from fiscal years 2019 through 2025, plus fiscal year 2026 data through June.
The notice also says OPM is seeking comment on We the Doers’ report Fast but Fair Federal Firing: Balancing Speed and Due Process when Removing Employees for Cause. According to the Federal Register, the report argues, among other points, that supervisors and managers are incentivized to keep poor performers on the job, a problem OPM says it is trying to address by reducing burdens on supervisors taking those actions.
OPM said it will consider only comments submitted during the reopened period that address the newly published data and the supplementary material added to the rulemaking record.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
