2026-06445: Administrative Law Judges; Withdrawal
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The Office of Personnel Management is clarifying its withdrawal of a proposed rule published on September 21, 2020. The notice of proposed rulemaking, among other things, proposed revising OPM's regulations governing the appointment and employment of administrative law judges (ALJs). OPM is withdrawing the proposed rule.
The agency’s own summary, as published.
The rule, in full
462 words as published, April 02, 2026. View the original →
Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 16584] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-06445] ======================================================================== Proposed Rules Federal Register ________________________________________________________________________ This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules. ======================================================================== Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 63 / Thursday, April 2, 2026 / Proposed Rules [[Page 16584]] OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Parts 212, 213, 302, and 930 [Docket ID: OPM-2025-0274] RIN 3206-AN72 Administrative Law Judges; Withdrawal
Agency
Office of Personnel Management.
Action
Withdrawal of proposed rule. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
The Office of Personnel Management is clarifying its withdrawal of a proposed rule published on September 21, 2020. The notice of proposed rulemaking, among other things, proposed revising OPM's regulations governing the appointment and employment of administrative law judges (ALJs). OPM is withdrawing the proposed rule.
Dates
OPM withdraws the proposed rule as of April 2, 2026.
Addresses
The docket for this withdrawn rule is available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OPM-2025-0274.
For Further Information Contact
Michael J. Mahoney (202) 936-3265 or email: [email protected].
Supplementary Information
On September 21, 2020, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) titled ``Administrative Law Judges'' in the Federal Register. See 85 FR 59207. The NPRM proposed to revise OPM's regulations governing the appointment and employment of administrative law judges (ALJs). The proposed rule would have implemented Executive Order (E.O.) 13843 titled ``Excepting Administrative Law Judges from the Competitive Service.'' It would have updated the rules for ALJ hiring in light of the 2018 creation of schedule E of the excepted service for ALJs and updated the existing ALJ employment regulations to reflect other changes in the law. In response to the NPRM, OPM received approximately 41 comments during the 60-day comment period which ended on November 20, 2020. OPM is withdrawing this proposal as the comments are over five years old, and agencies have implemented E.O. 13843. OPM plans to propose regulatory changes to implement Schedule E as part of another rulemaking later this year that will overhaul the excepted service regulations to reflect a variety of legal changes. See RIN 3206-AO92. OPM hereby withdraws the NPRM. Signing Statement The Director of OPM, Scott Kupor, reviewed and approved this document and has authorized the undersigned to electronically sign and submit this document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. Office of Personnel Management. Jerson Matias, Federal Register Liaison. [FR Doc. 2026-06445 Filed 4-1-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325-39-P
What this changes
Amends 4 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.
Rulemaking docket
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Proposed Rule September 21, 2020Administrative Law Judges
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Proposed Rule April 02, 2026Administrative Law Judges; Withdrawal
Public comments
What people are saying
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Anonymous commenter 2020-12-02
“Re-Structure with Revisions v. Merging Two Classifications The system should have been re-structured by the removal/revisions of sections and implementing exceptions and additional requirements or policies. The proposed amendments are not "exceptions" as the President misleadingly states. Rather the OPM removed the whole Competitive Service register. re-classified them, and THEN added revisions and exceptions. They just created a larger category with too many moving parts. With all of the exceptions and changes, they wouldn't even be considered Exceptive Service positions. It was an unneces...”
4,331 more characters
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Anonymous commenter 2020-12-02
“The current selection process is not working and needs to be overhauled. I have had personal experience with more than one ALJ and I am not impressed whatsoever with the lack of professionalism, knowledge of the law, and their over all attitudes toward the public. If they have the power to make decisions that directly effect our lives, then they should be held to standards that promote behavior that is indicative to that of a person who is an example within the community, and as such be held accountable;e for their choices, behaviors, and bias decisions without the complainant having very l...”
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Anonymous commenter 2020-12-02
“My name is Eliana Aklepi, and I am a 2L law student at Cardozo School of Law. I am interested in this regulation because as a law student and future attorney, these proposed changes would undermine the legitimacy of the administrative structure and thus the legal profession as a whole. The proposed changes lower the professional threshold required to access a career as an Administrative Law Judge and destandardizes the selection process by removing the OPM recruitment process. This destandardization negatively impacts individuals who have been working to cater their professional experience ...”
3,115 more characters
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Anonymous commenter 2020-12-02
“See attached file(s)”
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Anonymous commenter 2020-12-02
“See attached file(s)”
Read all comments on Regulations.gov →
Comment volume from Regulations.gov; the comment-submission API was retired in 2025, so comments are filed on Regulations.gov directly.
Documents
- Full text (Federal Register) · April 02, 2026
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