Federal Government Policy and Business

House to vote on lengthening trial period for federal employees from one to two years

The Washington Post: The U.S. flag flies in front of the Capitol Dome in Washington. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Newly hired federal employees would have to serve a two-year probationary period, double the current standard, before attaining full civil service job protections, under a bill ready for a House vote Thursday. The measure represents the latest step in what is amounting to a piecemeal civil service reform being advanced by Republicans in Congress focusing on employee performance and accountability, with what opponents consider to be the erosion of due process rights. “The probationary period can be a powerful tool for Federal managers to ensure qualified individuals are being appointed to Federal service. However, one year is not sufficient for employees to demonstrate, and for supervisors to observe and assess, all critical aspects of increasingly complex Federal positions,” Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a report on the bill.

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