[OPM Contact: Larry Lorenz, 202-606-1143]

The "excepted service" consists of all positions in the Executive Branch that statute, the President, or the Office of Personnel Management has specifically excepted from the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service. This section covers excepted service positions in Schedules A, B, and C as well as experts and consultants.

SCHEDULE C POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

Employees in the excepted service who are subject to change at the discretion of a new Administration are commonly referred to as "Schedule C" employees. Schedule C positions are excepted from the competitive service because they have policy-determining responsibilities or require the incumbent to serve in a confidential relationship to a key official. Most Schedule C positions are at the GS-15 level and below. Appointments to Schedule C positions require advance approval from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and OPM, but appointments may be made without competition. OPM does not review the qualifications of a Schedule C appointee -- final authority on this matter rests with the appointing official.
[TOP]

Agencies may separate Schedule C appointees at any time if the confidential or policy-determining relationship between the incumbent and his/her superior ends. Schedule C appointees are not covered by statutory removal procedures and generally have no rights to appeal removal actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board. This is true, regardless of veterans preference or length of service in the position. Agencies should consult their General Counsel or OPM's General Counsel on Schedule C separations. APPENDIX B contains a sample separation notice.

Establishing Regular Schedule C Positions. OPM authorizes the establishment of each Schedule C position and revokes the authority when the position is vacated. The agency head must certify that the position was not created solely or primarily for the purpose of detailing the incumbent to the White House. A list of Schedule C positions is published annually in the Federal Register, under Part 213 of OPM's regulations. The President can also authorize individual exemptions under Schedule C [5 CFR 6.8].

Temporary Transitional Schedule C Positions. To help with transitions, OPM has delegated authority to agencies to establish a limited number of temporary transitional Schedule C positions [5 CFR 213.3302]. Agencies can use this delegated authority during the first year of a new Presidential Administration and during a 1-year period immediately following the appointment of a new agency head, or the designation of an "acting" agency head. The number of temporary transitional Schedule C positions an agency establishes cannot exceed either 50 percent of the highest number of regular Schedule C appointees in that agency at any time over the previous 5 years, or three positions, whichever is higher.
[TOP]

Agencies can make appointments under this authority for up to 120 days and may extend the appointment once for up to 120 more days. The agency must notify OPM within 5 working days that they have made an appointment to a temporary transitional Schedule C position. Agencies must also notify OPM within 3 working days when the position has been vacated. In addition, the agency must give OPM a statement signed by the agency head, or his/her designee, certifying that the position was not created solely or primarily for the purpose of detailing the incumbent to the White House and identifying the position and incumbent.

When an agency intends to convert an employee in a temporary transitional Schedule C position to a nontemporary ("regular") Schedule C appointment, the temporary appointment may be designated as a "provisional appointment" [5 CFR 316.403]. This permits the agency to treat the employee as a nontemporary appointee for benefits purposes [see section 7, p. 19.] Provisional appointments must be made under an authority established by law, Executive order, or regulation, or granted by OPM [5 CFR 316.403(b)]. Documentation instructions are in OPM's Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, Chapter 11, Excepted Service Appointments.
[TOP]

OTHER EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

In addition to the policy-determining or confidential positions described in the preceding section, Congress, the President, or OPM can except certain agencies and groups of positions from the competitive service and the Senior Executive Service. These exceptions are made for a variety of reasons, none of which relate to policy-determining or confidential factors. Like career appointees, employees in these positions are not generally subject to change during transitions.

Positions Excepted by Statute and the President. Examples of positions that have been excepted by statute include the Foreign Service of the Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice; all positions in the Tennessee Valley Authority, the General Accounting Office, and the Postal Service; and certain employees of the Veterans Health Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Most of these positions are under separate merit systems and are not subject to change during transitions. Examples of Presidential exceptions include jobs overseas held by foreign nationals
[TOP] .

Positions Excepted by the Office of Personnel Management. There are two other categories of positions that OPM has administratively excepted from the competitive service because it is not practical to hold competitive examinations for them. These are Schedule A and Schedule B positions.

-- Schedule A Positions. Examples include chaplains, teachers in military dependent school systems overseas, faculty positions of service academies, and certain positions at isolated localities. Attorney positions are also in Schedule A because OPM is prohibited in its appropriations legislation from spending funds to examine for attorney positions.

-- Schedule B Positions. Schedule B is used primarily for career-related work study positions.

The procedural and appellate rights governing the removal of Schedule A and B appointees vary. Employees with veterans preference who have 1 year of qualifying service are entitled to statutory procedural and appellate rights if they are removed from the Federal service for conduct or performance reasons. In addition, the Due Process Amendments of 1990 [P.L. 101-376, August 17, 1990] gave procedural and appeal protections to many excepted service employees who do not have veterans preference, provided they have completed 2 years of qualifying service.
[TOP]

EXPERT AND CONSULTANT APPOINTMENTS

Agencies may appoint experts and consultants without regard to competitive civil service requirements to positions that primarily require performance of advisory services, rather than performance of operating functions [5 U.S.C. 3109]. If the individual meets the definitions of expert or consultant in 5 CFR Part 304, and if the work assigned requires expert or consultant services, agencies may use expert and consultant appointments for individuals who have been nominated by the President, but not yet confirmed, or for individuals whose permanent excepted appointments are pending.

Agencies may not use expert and consultant appointments to avoid employment procedures or solely in anticipation of a competitive career-conditional appointment. An expert and consultant appointment authority may not be used to fill positions in the Senior Executive Service [5 U.S.C. 3109]. However, if a position meets the criteria for placement in the Senior Executive Service, OPM may authorize a limited appointment authority to appoint an individual during the transition period.
[TOP]

Experts and consultants may be paid a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the highest payable rate in the General Schedule (GS-15, step 10), excluding locality pay, unless a higher rate is specifically authorized by statute. They may also be reimbursed for travel (if they are intermittent employees), but not moving expenses. They may participate in orientation/training programs at Government expense.

ORIENTATIONS FOR NEW SCHEDULE C APPOINTEES

The Office of Personnel Management sponsors 1-day orientations for new Schedule C appointees several times during the year. These briefings are designed to provide appointees with information about working in the Federal environment, Government ethics, and the Hatch Act, as well as current domestic, economic, and foreign policy issues and initiatives. OPM will publish notices of these briefings and registration information on its website (www.opm.gov/events/index.htm).
[TOP]