President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that makes it easier for the government to cut loose probationary employees, or those who have typically served in their position for less than two years.
Probationary employees attain full civil service protections after their probationary period ends – usually within one to two years, depending on the role. However, the new order would allow probationary employees to achieve full status only if the agency they work for approves of their performance.
Instead of automatically attaining full status, probationary employees would be subject to an assessment once their “trial period” ends, according to the order. Agencies are instructed to “evaluate employees’ fitness and whether their continuation of employment advances the public interest.”
Without agency certification, the probationary employee’s service will automatically terminate on the last day of their probationary period “unless their agency certifies within the 30 days prior to that date that finalizing their appointment advances the public interest,” according to the order.
The White House said that the change fulfills a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) recommendation that dates back to 2005.
“The probationary period can be a highly effective tool to evaluate a candidate’s potential to be an asset to the government before an appointment becomes final. However, the probationary period is effective only if agencies use it to assess their candidates and act upon those assessments,” wrote Neil A.G.McPhie, who served as the seventh chairman of MSPB.
In a fact sheet on the order, the White House said President Trump believes “a meaningful probationary process is essential to maintaining a merit-based Federal workforce.”
The fact sheet also explains that the order “creates an individualized review process, requiring a designee of agency leadership to meet with probationary employees at least 60 days before their probationary period ends to discuss their performance and continued employment.”
The order requires agencies to identify current probationary employees and designate “evaluators” within 15 days.
However, the fact sheet explains that the order allows the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish an appeals process for probationary terminations “in some circumstances.”
The executive order comes after the Trump administration fired thousands of probationary employees in an effort to slim down the Federal workforce. Many of those terminations have led to court-ordered reinstatements, which the Supreme Court ultimately overturned earlier this month.