Performance Appraisal for General Schedule, Prevailing Rate, and Certain Other Employees
Key claim: OPM’s final rule streamlines federal employee performance management by eliminating forced-distribution prohibitions, mandatory Level 1 rating reviews, and grievance options for ratings of record, while adding supervisory critical elements and biennial appraisal system certifications.
Abstract
(Rule · Personnel Management Office) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of performance management for non-Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, including General Schedule (GS) and prevailing rate employees. This final rule eliminates unnecessary summary level patterns; removes the prohibition of a forced, or standardized, distribution of performance rating levels; eliminates mandatory review of Level 1 ratings; removes the option to grieve a rating of record; requires a supervisory critical element for all supervisors covered under this subpart; and requires OPM to conduct biennial certifications of agency appraisal systems.
Why this matters
Performance appraisal rules govern how federal employees’ work is rated, how disputes are resolved, and how ratings feed into pay, promotion, and removal decisions. By eliminating forced-distribution prohibitions, mandatory Level 1 review, and rating grievance rights while adding supervisory accountability elements, OPM shifts discretion toward managers and reduces employee procedural avenues to challenge ratings. The rule is a companion piece to OPM’s broader adverse-action and human capital restructuring, and together these changes reshape the federal employment relationship.