Full Breakdown
Federal Schedule P/C Conversions Extend to Mid-Level Positions, Raising Workforce Concerns
8/21/2026, 10:45:50 PM
Core Event
Agencies are tagging an expanding range of positions on USAJOBS with the newly created Schedule Policy/Career (Schedule P/C) designation. While the 2022 executive order that created the category was intended primarily for senior-level, policy-making roles, recent job postings reveal that at least a dozen listings at the GS-13 level or below have been marked for conversion. The shift moves employees into at-will status, removing merit-system protections and altering whistleblower review procedures.
Background & Context
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June converting roughly 8,000 competitive-service jobs into the excepted service. Officials initially reported that 97 % of those conversions involved GS-15s or senior leaders. The Partnership for Public Service has noted that the order’s appendix lists agency-specific titles and internal position numbers, but the documentation remains opaque, prompting analysts to infer scope from public job announcements.
Data & Statistics
- Partnership analysis examined more than 130 USAJOBS listings that mention Schedule P/C.
- Nearly 10 % of those listings correspond to positions at the GS-13 level or lower.
- Examples include airport screeners at the Transportation Security Administration (listed in error, according to TSA) and several roles at the International Development Finance Corporation awaiting Office of Personnel Management approval.
- The Energy Department flagged some jobs as “potentially meeting the requirements,” while three U.S. Agency for Global Media positions are “under review for inclusion.”
Official Statements & Responses
Brandon Lardy, data director for the Partnership for Public Service, said the combination of limited documentation and the removal of civil-service safeguards creates a “nightmare for transparency advocates.” Agency officials have explained that TSA’s Schedule P/C listings for screeners resulted from an administrative mistake that will be corrected. The International Development Finance Corporation indicated that its submissions to OPM have not yet received approval.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re also concerned about the effect this will have on morale across the federal workforce with the fear of being classified into Schedule P/C and losing their protections.” — Ultimately
