Federal workforce and hiring executive orders

What this topic covers

Federal workforce orders set executive-branch policy for hiring, labor relations, employee classification, workplace rules, and agency workforce planning. They can direct the Office of Personnel Management or agency heads to write a plan, issue guidance, or change procedures within authority Congress has delegated. They do not erase civil-service statutes, collective-bargaining laws, appropriations limits, or the right to challenge an individual personnel decision. A hiring initiative also does not guarantee a particular applicant a job; eligibility and selection remain governed by law and agency procedures.

Clinton’s EO 12871 promoted labor-management partnerships and employee participation in improving federal operations; EO 13171 addressed Hispanic employment in the federal government. George W. Bush’s administration emphasized notice of employees’ rights concerning union dues and agency management. Obama’s EO 13518 created a government-wide initiative to recruit and retain veterans. These approaches show how workforce orders can address management methods and access to federal careers, while leaving the underlying civil-service system in place.

Trump’s first term directed a change in how agencies assess applicants through EO 13932, which favored skills-based evaluation over relying on academic credentials alone. EO 13957 created Schedule F, a new excepted-service category for certain policy-related positions. Biden’s EO 14003 revoked four Trump workforce orders, including EO 13957, and changed federal labor-relations policy. The reversals demonstrate why a policy announcement, an operative personnel rule, and an employee’s individual rights must be checked separately.

Trump’s second term returned to both hiring reform and position classification. EO 14170 directed development of a federal hiring plan centered on merit, skills, and efficiency. EO 14171 reinstated a Schedule F-style category under a new name, Policy/Career, and specified how covered positions would be identified and reviewed. The 2025–26 debate concerns the President’s management authority, statutory protections, and the line between policy-influencing positions and career work. The Federal Register record and litigation status in the linked guides matter: an order’s signed text does not alone establish that each proposed personnel change has been implemented.

Courts review these disputes against statutes and constitutional structure. Seila Law LLC v. CFPB addressed presidential removal authority over an agency head, not the civil-service rules governing ordinary federal employees; it is useful context for questions about executive control but should not be treated as deciding workforce cases. The Office of Personnel Management’s statutes and implementing regulations remain central to hiring and classification disputes. Use the signed texts linked below, the Federal Register’s executive-order index, and the National Archives disposition tables to distinguish a current instruction from a revoked one.

Landmark orders and turning points

• EO 10988 (1962) established a landmark federal framework for employee-management cooperation and set an earlier precedent for labor-relations orders.
• EO 12871 (1993) directed agencies to create labor-management partnerships and involve employees in improving government operations.
• EO 13171 (2000) addressed Hispanic representation and employment opportunities across the federal workforce.
• EO 13518 (2009) built an interagency effort to recruit and retain veterans in federal jobs.
• EO 13932 (2020) directed agencies to modernize applicant assessment and place greater weight on demonstrated skills.
• EO 13957 (2020) created Schedule F for certain policy-related positions; EO 14003 revoked it and other workforce actions in 2021.
• EO 14170 and EO 14171 (2025) set the current administration’s federal hiring and policy-position agenda.

Read how EO Explained checks sources and status.