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The Trump Administration has given federal agencies until the end of this week to provide lists of all of their employees who are still in their probationary periods.
Generally, federal employees must complete a one-year probationary period in their roles before they are granted civil service protections, including due process requirements and the ability to appeal terminations and other disciplinary actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
On January 22, 2025, OPM Acting Director, Charles Ezell,sent a memo to agency heads giving them until Friday, January 25, 2025, to submit lists of all employees still in their probationary period to OPM. The Memo further reminded agencies that employees still within their probationary period can be terminated without triggering MSPB appeal rights, and directed agencies to consider whether current probationary employees should be retained.
Once OPM has the information requested, it is not clear what the next steps will be. However, if you are a federal employee still in your probationary period, it’s not unreasonable to be concerned about your future employment. There are steps you can take now to be prepared for any outcome.
1. Update your resume, and tailor it for the private sector.
If you just started a federal job, you likely weren’t planning on looking for a new job anytime soon. Since we don’t know what the future holds, take this time now to get your resume updated, and create or update a resume tailored to jobs in the private sector. Your federal resume is likely much more detailed than a resume that would be used in the private sector, and contains information regarding your pay, schedule, and other details that would not be provided in a typical resume outside of federal employment. Your federal resume is also likely to be a lot longer than a resume you might submit in the private sector.
The Trump Administration has enacted a federal hiring freeze, so you may need to turn to the private sector, even if temporarily,should you find yourself looking for a new job. It is better to be prepared now, than scrambling to put together a new resume at the last minute. Keep your federal resume up to date as well, as once the hiring freeze is lifted, it is possible that new federal opportunities will arise.
2. Get your documents in order
With remote work, and our culture of constantly being online, it is not uncommon to find that you have personal documents on your work computer, and some work documents stored on your personal computer. Get these documents organized.
Remove your personal documents from your work computer and get them saved on your personal computer, or in the cloud. If you are terminated, you will lose access to your work computer and work emails, and you don’t want to find yourself unable to access something important because you accidentally only saved it on the work computer or network that you no longer have access to.
3. Gather Evidence of your success
While agencies have been instructed to consider whether current probationary employees should be retained, this does not mean that the answer for every probationary employee is “no.” Keep records of your success, including any particularly successful projects you’ve worked on, any praise or recognition you have received –anything that you can point to demonstrating that you are successful and valuable in your role.
This will help you when you’re able to give input for your performance appraisals, making a case that you should be retained, or receive a high appraisal and potentially performance-based awards. It will also be helpful as you update your resume or interview if you’re asked to give examples of your success. We all complete so many tasks and projects, that it can be easy to forget about things you accomplished months ago, which might be precisely on point for a potential new job, or recognition during a performance review.
4. Document any concerns you have regarding discrimination.
While probationary employees can be easily terminated without agencies having to worry about appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board, it remains illegal to terminate an employee based on their membership in a protected class or classes. If you believe that you are being targeted because of your race, gender, age, religion,national origin, disability, or because you’ve previously participated in protected activity, document those concerns. Keep records that support your concerns, even if those records are just memos you’ve written to yourself documenting events and issues.
If you are comfortable discussing your concerns with your supervisor, or someone higher in your chain of command, ask to set up a meeting, or send an email with your concerns. While many employees understandably believe that this will make them a target, it also documents a real, on-going concern and is considered engaging in protected activity. Retaliating against an employee for engaging in protected activity is prohibited.
As discussed above, if you are terminated, you won’t be able to access your documents and files, so keep personal copies of any documentation you may want to rely on later.
5. Know your rights
Finally, as we don’t know what the future holds, it is important to know your rights. If you are terminated during your probationary period, you generally do not have the right to file an MSPB appeal. You are not entitled to the notice and response periods that tenured federal employees receive.
However, you may appeal a termination to the MSPB if you believe that your termination was based on your political affiliation or marital status, or based on conditions arising before your employment on the grounds that the termination was not in accordance with regulations.
If you believe that your termination was the result of prohibited discrimination, but not based on your political affiliation, marital status, or a condition arising prior to employment, you can file an EEO complaint and seek to address the discrimination through the EEO process.
If you decide to pursue legal action, remember that the EEO and HR staff at your agency work for your agency. They are not your advocates. Consider hiring legal counsel to assist and guide you through this process. The process can be complicated and relies on adherence to strict deadlines. The process for federal employees also differs significantly from the process that a private sector employee would engage in.
The experienced federal employment attorneys at Melville Johnson, P.C. are dedicated to helping federal employees navigate these types of employment challenges, and can serve as your advocate and guide through the process.
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