Saving the Civil Service Act

To place limitations on excepting positions from the competitive service, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Saving the Civil Service Act 2. Limitations on excepting positions from competitive service and transferring positions (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term agency (2) the term competitive service (3) the term Director (4) the term excepted service (b) Limitations A position in the competitive service may not be excepted from the competitive service unless that position is placed— (1) in any of schedules A through E, as described in section 6.2 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on September 30, 2020; and (2) under the terms and conditions under part 6 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on September 30, 2020. (c) Transfers (1) Within excepted service A position in the excepted service may not be transferred to any schedule other than a schedule described in subsection (b)(1). (2) OPM consent required An agency may not transfer any occupied position from the competitive service or the excepted service into schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulations, without the prior consent of the Director. (3) Limit during presidential term During any 4-year presidential term, an agency may not transfer from a position in the competitive service to a position in the excepted service the greater of the following: (A) A total number of employees that is more than 1 percent of the total number of employees employed by that agency, as of the first day of that presidential term. (B) 5 employees. (4) Employee consent required Notwithstanding any other provision of this section— (A) an employee who occupies a position in the excepted service may not be transferred to an excepted service schedule other than the schedule in which that position is located without the prior written consent of the employee; and (B) an employee who occupies a position in the competitive service may not be transferred to the excepted service without the prior written consent of the employee. (d) Other matters (1) Application Notwithstanding section 7425(b) of title 38, United States Code, this section shall apply to a position under chapter 73 or 74 of that title. (2) Report Not later than March 15 of each calendar year, the Director shall submit to Congress a report on the immediately preceding calendar year that lists— (A) each position that, during the year covered by the report, was transferred from the competitive service to the excepted service and a justification as to why each such position was so transferred; and (B) any violation of this section that occurred during the year covered by the report. (e) Regulations Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue regulations to implement this section.

Summary: Saving the Civil Service Act This bill prohibits executive agency positions in the competitive service from being placed in the excepted service, unless such positions are placed in Schedules A through E as in effect on September 30, 2020. The bill also prohibits positions in the excepted service from being placed in any schedule other than the aforementioned schedules. Additionally, agencies may not (1) transfer occupied positions from the competitive or excepted service into Schedule C without the consent of the Office of Personnel Management, or (2) transfer employees in the excepted service to another schedule or transfer employees in the competitive service to the excepted service without employee consent. The bill also caps the number of employees that may be transferred from the competitive service to the excepted service during a presidential term to 1% of total employees as of the first day of the term or five employees, whichever is greater. On October 21, 2020, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The order placed executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new schedule in the excepted service (Schedule F) instead of the competitive service. The order also required any such positions in the excepted service to be reclassified to Schedule F. The order was subsequently revoked by President Joe Biden.