SUMMARY: Yesterday, NTEU joined nearly 50 national organizations and 13 members of academia on a letter to Congress in support of legislation to prevent a future
Schedule F. 

Yesterday, NTEU joined nearly 50 national organizations and 13 members of academia in sending the attached letter to the House and Senate urging Congress to pass legislation before the end of the year to prevent the president from implementing a policy similar to the Schedule F Executive Order (EO) issued during the last administration.  As you may recall, the October 2020 EO established a new category of excepted service employees, known as Schedule F, which, if fully implemented, could have impacted tens of thousands of non-political, career federal employees, stripping them of their civil service protections and allowing them to be hired and fired at will.  

NTEU has endorsed House and Senate legislation to prevent future similar attempts to undermine the civil service in this way.  The bill, the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302/
S. 4702) passed the House both as a stand-alone bill in September and as part of the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in July (Section 5705 of H.R. 7900).  Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced the language as an amendment to the Senate version of the NDAA, which is expected to be considered by the Senate following the election.  Similar language was also included in the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for FY 2023 (S. 4685).  As you know, Congress must pass a government funding bill before the current Continuing Resolution expires on December 16, 2022.  The coalition letter urges Congress to pass the anti-Schedule F legislation during the lame duck session, whether as standalone legislation or as part of the NDAA, appropriations, or other legislative vehicle.

               Given the growing support for Schedule F and reported plans by some potential presidential candidates to implement such a scheme if elected, it is critical that Congress act now to prevent the return of Schedule F, which would not only subject dedicated civil servants to partisan whims, but also adversely affect agency missions and the fair and impartial delivery of government services Americans rely on.  Rest assured that NTEU will continue to fight against Schedule F and similar schemes to undermine employee collective bargaining and due process rights.  I will update you on further developments.  For more information, click here.

                                                                                    Anthony M. Reardon

                                                                                    National President