Trump Targets Probationary Reviews for Federal Workers in Order

President Donald Trump is demanding significant changes to the process by which probationary workers are evaluated before gaining full federal employment status and job protections.

Under an executive order issued Thursday, federal agency leaders must actively certify that the continued employment of a probationary employee “advances the public interest” before granting them tenure. The order claims that agencies have failed to remove poor performers and “often retained and given tenure to underperforming employees who should have been screened out during their probationary period.”

It’s the Trump administration’s latest effort to reshape the federal workforce, even as several lawsuits contesting the legality of recent decisions to terminate tens of thousands of probationary workers are pending.

All federal agencies must review current probationary employees and assign evaluators, the order said.

At least 60 days before a probationary period ends, each agency must meet with probationary employees to evaluate and determine if their performance meets the agency’s needs. Agencies also must determine whether their continued employment would advance their goals and the public interest, the order said.

Within 30 days after each employee’s probationary or trial period, the agency head or a designated individual will decide the employee’s appointment to federal service. Probationary employees also bear “the burden of demonstrating why their” continued employment is in the public interest, the order said.

The order takes effect immediately. The Office of Personnel Management will implement new regulations and provide guidance to federal agencies, it said.