OPM Reopened Public Comment on Federal Firing Rules
Managers and HR leaders should review the proposed changes to employee removal and performance management processes.
Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Human Resources
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The Office of Personnel Management has reopened the public comment period for proposed federal employment regulations governing employee removals, grade reductions, and non-disciplinary separations. Operators can provide feedback on these proposed administrative updates through September 29, 2026.
Why it matters
The agency is seeking to incentivize supervisors to address poor performance and misconduct, noting that adverse action rates have remained flat despite previous regulatory adjustments. These changes aim to clarify the mechanisms for managing underperforming staff and handling disciplinary separations.
Federal terminations reached 3,105 as of June 2026, tracking against the 3,492 separations recorded during the full 2025 fiscal year. The agency has extended the public comment window for these regulatory overhauls for a total of two weeks.
The players
Office of Personnel Management
The federal agency that serves as the chief human resources provider and personnel policy manager for the United States government.
Merit Systems Protection Board
An independent quasi-judicial agency that protects the federal merit system and oversees the adjudication of employee appeals.
We the Doers
A research organization that publishes analysis on federal workforce management and organizational performance processes.
The details
The proposed regulations aim to streamline procedures for adverse actions, which currently include grade reductions and non-disciplinary separations. By modifying these internal processes, the agency intends to provide supervisors with more effective tools to manage poor performance and misconduct. The Merit Systems Protection Board has already finalized its portion of the proposed regulatory framework as of September 2026.
Timeline
Fiscal 2025 saw 3,492 total federal employee terminations.
Federal terminations reached 3,105 as of June 2026.
We the Doers released a report on firing processes on August 27, 2026.
The OPM issued a Federal Register notice on September 15, 2026.
Public comments are due by September 29, 2026.
Market Landscape
This effort follows the Merit Systems Protection Board's regulatory framework finalized in September 2026 to update personnel management. It reflects a broader trend of federal agencies seeking to reconcile historical performance management data with internal administrative rules.
Business leaders should track these regulatory shifts as potential benchmarks for managing performance-based separations. Operators should note the September 29, 2026, deadline to review how these federal administrative standards may influence future workplace policy expectations.
The takeaway
The agency's move to reopen comments underscores the difficulty of shifting performance metrics through policy changes alone. Operators should monitor the final rule for new procedural requirements that may serve as a template for future disciplinary documentation standards.
Further reading
For more on managing employee performance and disciplinary policy, see Human Resources.
Live Poll
Should federal agencies make it easier to fire underperforming civil servants?
