BLUF: OPM's September 18 proposed rule would modernize excepted-service hiring, formalize Schedule Policy/Career conversions, and take comments through November 17, 2026.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on September 18, 2026, to amend regulations governing the excepted service, Pathways Programs, and administrative law judge (ALJ) appointments. The rule would conform OPM's regulations to current excepted-service schedules — Schedules E, Policy/Career, and G — and modernize Part 302 hiring procedures.

Why it matters: The rule directly affects how agencies bring on political and policy-related appointees, since it authorizes and clarifies procedures for converting Pathways Program participants into Schedule Policy/Career positions. Contractors that place personnel into federal agencies via excepted-service pathways, or that track federal hiring-authority policy, should watch for downstream agency implementation guidance once the rule is finalized. The rule states it preserves veterans' preference and compensable-injury restoration rights, so protected hiring categories are not being narrowed.

By the numbers:

• Docket ID: OPM-2026-0166
• RIN: 3206-AO92
• Published: September 18, 2026
• Comment period closes: November 17, 2026
• Document type: Proposed Rule

OPM's proposal would also make related conforming amendments across its excepted-service regulations to align with schedules established since the current rules were last updated. The agency is accepting public comments on the proposed changes through the November deadline listed above; the Federal Register notice does not specify a public hearing.

Source: Federal Register