Government operations and workforce

Executive Order 12940: Amendment to Civil Service Rule VI

President: Bill Clinton

Placed specified Agriculture state directors in Schedule C after departmental reorganization, excluding those policy roles from the competitive service.

Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 12940 still in effect? No. Executive Order 12940 was superseded. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 12940 do?

EO 12940 revised Civil Service Rule VI after the 1994 Agriculture reorganization. It placed state executive directors of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency and state directors or directors-at-large for Rural Economic and Community Development in Schedule C at all General Schedule grades. These were confidential or policy-making positions excepted from the competitive service and specified prohibited-personnel-practice coverage. The order superseded EO 12300, but later agency reorganizations and appointment schedules changed the named offices.

Administration position: The order classified specific policy roles as political appointments. It did not convert ordinary career Agriculture positions or waive all civil-service law.
SignedNovember 28, 1994
DepartmentAgriculture
Appointment categorySchedule C

Before and after

Before the order

EO 12300 covered predecessor Agriculture state positions.

After the order

The reorganized named positions were placed in Schedule C.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
OPM and AgricultureList and administer the named positions in Schedule CWhile the offices existed in that form

What happened next

The Agriculture Reorganization Act became law.

EO 12940 revised the rule and superseded EO 12300.

Current appointments depended on later organization and Schedule C records.