Establishing an Exception to Competitive Examining Rules for Appointment to Certain Positions in the United States Marshals Service, Department of Justice

This executive order places Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators in the excepted service (Schedule B), exempting them from standard competitive civil service examinations. It also allows these employees to convert to career appointments after three years of satisfactory service, aligning USMS hiring practices with other federal law enforcement agencies.

Federal Register Open PDF 83 FR 32753

Impact dates

Date TBD
OPM Director regulations to implement conversion authority
Jul 9, 2021
Earliest eligibility for non-competitive conversion to career appointment

Key directives

Place Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators in Schedule B of excepted service
Exempt these positions from competitive service requirements
Prohibit appointments to confidential, policy-determining, or Senior Executive Service positions
Require Schedule B appointments to meet OPM basic qualification standards
Allow non-competitive conversion to career appointments after 3 years of substantially continuous, fully satisfactory service
OPM Director shall prescribe implementing regulations

Who is ordered

OPM Director · OPM

Timeline

Immediate

Schedule B excepted service authority takes effect for USMS hiring
Competitive examining rules no longer apply to specified positions

Near term (90d)

OPM Director must prescribe implementing regulations

Long term

First cohort of Schedule B appointees becomes eligible for conversion to career appointments after 3 years of service (July 2021 onward)

Risks & tensions

No explicit deadline for OPM regulations creates implementation uncertainty
Potential tension with merit system principles by bypassing competitive examination
3-year conversion timeline may create retention incentives or 'cliff' effects
Vague 'substantially continuous, fully satisfactory service' standard leaves discretion to agency