On May 27, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed new rulemaking to eliminate the current time-in-grade requirement. Current regulations dating back to 1950 require General Schedule feds to work 52 weeks before they are eligible for a promotion. OPM referred to the current rule as “outdated,” in the proposed rulemaking, which is open for comments through July 27.

OPM argues the proposed rule would “shift federal advancement away from time served and toward merit, performance, skills, and demonstrated readiness for higher-level work.” If adopted, all feds would still be required to meet qualification standards set by OPM and other job-related requirements.

“Federal employees should be rewarded for what they can do, not how long they have waited,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said. “This proposed rule strengthens merit, gives managers more flexibility to recognize high performers, and helps agencies move talented people into mission-critical roles faster.”

OPM’s rationale for this rulemaking is that arbitrary time-in-grade requirements are irrelevant due to modern qualification standards, merit system principles, prohibited personnel practices, and agency promotion requirements.

Click here to view the proposed rule in full and to submit comments.