Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals; Correction and Technical Amendment

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2026, streamlining probationary and trial period appeals. That document contained typographical and clerical errors in the regulatory text. This document corrects the final rule. This document also makes a technical amendment to OPM regulations to conform its appeal-rights reference to the final rule.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54793-54794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17336]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2026 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 54793]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Parts 315 and 751

[Docket ID: OPM-2025-0013]
RIN 3206-AO96


Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals; Correction 
and Technical Amendment

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule; correction and technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final 
rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2026, streamlining 
probationary and trial period appeals. That document contained 
typographical and clerical errors in the regulatory text. This document 
corrects the final rule. This document also makes a technical amendment 
to OPM regulations to conform its appeal-rights reference to the final 
rule.

DATES: Effective September 2, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aaron Gottesman, Senior Advisor to the 
Director, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#53363e233f3c2a36363230303c263d2732313a3f3a272a133c233e7d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5d38302d31322438383c3e3e322833293c3f34313429241d322d30733a322b">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or by phone at 
(202) 606-7400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM published a final rule on August 3, 2026 
(91 FR 49104; FR Doc. 2026-15654), establishing 5 CFR part 751 and 
making related amendments. The document contained clerical errors, 
including references to ``this subpart'' in a part that contains no 
subparts, a doubled conjunction in Sec.  751.102(c)(2), a misplaced 
paragraph structure in Sec.  751.103(b), the use in Sec.  751.104(c) of 
the term ``responsible agency,'' which is undefined in part 751 (the 
term is defined only in Sec.  731.503(b)(2), for purposes of part 731, 
subpart E), and minor typographical errors. This document corrects 
those errors. The corrections are non-substantive and make no change to 
the rights or obligations established by the final rule.
    This document also amends Sec.  315.909(b). The final rule revised 
Sec.  315.908(b) to provide that an employee who alleges that an action 
under subpart I of part 315 was based on partisan political reasons or 
marital status may appeal to OPM under new 5 CFR part 751, and Sec.  
751.101(e) establishes that the procedures in part 751 are the sole 
means of appealing a covered action while preserving matters within the 
independent jurisdiction of other bodies.
    The last sentence of Sec.  315.909(b), however, continues to state 
that an employee who believes an action under subpart I was based on 
improper discrimination or other prohibited practices under 5 U.S.C. 
2302 may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board or the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission. That sentence is inconsistent with 
revised Sec. Sec.  315.908(b) and 751.101(e), and this document 
conforms it, effective concurrently with the final rule. Pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), OPM finds that good cause exists to make this 
technical, conforming amendment without prior notice and comment 
because notice and comment are unnecessary for a non-substantive change 
that conforms the paragraph to a rule previously promulgated; for the 
same reasons, and pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause exists for 
the amendment to take effect with the underlying rule on September 2, 
2026.

Regulatory Review

    OPM has examined this rule under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. 
For the reasons discussed above, this rule is not a significant 
regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. This is not an E.O. 
14192 regulatory action because this rule is not significant under E.O. 
12866.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 315

    Government employees.

Signing Statement

    The Director of OPM, Scott Kupor, reviewed and approved this 
document and has authorized the undersigned to electronically sign and 
submit this document to the Office of the Federal Register for 
publication.

Office of Personnel Management.
Jerson Matias,
Federal Register Liaison.

Correction

    In FR Doc. 2026-15654, appearing on page 49072 in the Federal 
Register of Monday, August 3, 2026, the following corrections are made:

PART 315 [CORRECTED]

0
1. On page 49111, in the second column, in amendatory instruction 6, in 
the authority citation for part 315, remove ``Comp., p.111.'' and add 
in its place ``Comp., p. 111.''.


Sec.  751.101   [Corrected]

0
2. On page 49112, in the first and second columns, in Sec.  751.101:
0
a. In paragraph (b)(1), remove ``written appeal,'' and add in its place 
``written appeal;'';
0
b. In paragraph (b)(2), remove ``over the appeal, and'' and add in its 
place ``over the appeal; and'';
0
c. In paragraph (b)(3), remove ``The agency's action was'' and add in 
its place ``That the agency's action was''; and
0
d. In paragraph (e), remove ``or Office of Special Counsel'' and add in 
its place ``or the Office of Special Counsel''.


Sec.  751.102   [Corrected]

0
3. On page 49112, in the third column, in Sec.  751.102(c)(2), remove 
``unless registered as an e-filer unless exempted'' and add in its 
place ``unless registered as an e-filer or exempted''.

0
4. On page 49113, in the second column, in Sec.  751.103, paragraph (b) 
is corrected to read as follows:


Sec.  751.103  [Corrected]

    (b) Agency response. (1) The agency response to an appeal must be 
filed within 30 calendar days after service of the initial appeal and 
contain:
    (i) The name of the appellant and of the agency whose action the 
appellant is appealing;
    (ii) A statement identifying the agency action taken against the 
appellant and stating the reasons for taking the action;
    (iii) All documents contained in the agency record of the action;
    (iv) Designation of and signature by the authorized agency 
representative; and
    (v) Any other documents or responses requested by OPM.

[[Page 54794]]

    (2) The agency's 30 days to respond begins upon service of the 
appeal.
    (3) The agency record of the action shall include, at a minimum:
    (i) All documents considered or relied upon by the agency in taking 
the action;
    (ii) The notice of action and effective date;
    (iii) Documents showing the appellant's appointment, service 
history, and probationary or trial period status;
    (iv) Any written certification, noncertification, or failure-to-
certify record under 5 CFR part 11;
    (v) Any documents supporting the agency's basis for the action 
under appeal; and
    (vi) A certification that the agency has produced the complete 
record considered by the deciding official or otherwise relied upon by 
the agency.
    (4) The agency must produce the complete agency record to OPM. The 
agency must serve the appellant with the agency record, except that the 
agency may redact or withhold information from the copy served on the 
appellant to the extent necessary to comply with the Privacy Act, 
applicable legal privileges, classified information or national 
security requirements, protective orders issued by OPM, and any other 
applicable limitation on disclosure required by law.


Sec.  751.104   [Corrected]

0
5. On page 49113, in the third column, in Sec.  751.104(c), remove 
``OPM or the responsible agency may'' and add in its place ``OPM or the 
agency whose action is under appeal may'', and remove ``an employee of 
the responsible agency or OPM'' and add in its place ``an employee of 
that agency or OPM''.


Sec.  751.105  [Corrected]

0
6. Starting on page 49113, in the third column, in Sec.  751.105(a) and 
(b), remove ``an appeal under this subpart'' and add in its place ``an 
appeal under this part''.


Sec.  751.107  [Corrected]

0
7. On page 49114, in the third column, in Sec.  751.107(a), remove 
``issued under this subpart'' and add in its place ``issued under this 
part''.


Sec.  751.109  [Corrected]

0
8. On page 49115, in the second column, in Sec.  751.109(f), remove ``a 
proceeding under this subpart'' and add in its place ``a proceeding 
under this part''.

Technical Amendment

    Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, OPM amends 5 
CFR part 315 as follows:

PART 315--CAREER AND CAREER-CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT

0
9. The authority citation for part 315 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1302, 3301, and 3302. E.O. 10577, 3 CFR, 
1954-1958 Comp., p. 218, unless otherwise noted; E.O. 14284, 90 FR 
17729. Secs. 315.601 and 315.609 also issued under 22 U.S.C. 3651 
and 3652. Secs. 315.602 and 315.604 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 1104. 
Sec. 315.603 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8151. Sec. 315.605 also 
issued under E.O. 12034, 43 FR 1917, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp., p. 111. Sec. 
315.606 also issued under E.O. 11219, 30 FR 6381, 3 CFR, 1964-1965 
Comp., p. 303. Sec. 315.607 also issued under 22 U.S.C. 2560. Sec. 
315.608 also issued under E.O. 12721, 55 FR 31349, 3 CFR, 1990 
Comp., p. 293. Sec. 315.610 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3304(c). Sec. 
315.611 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3304(f). Sec. 315.612 also issued 
under E.O. 13473, 73 FR 56703, 3 CFR, 2009 Comp., p. 241. Sec. 
315.613 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 9602. Sec. 315.710 also issued 
under E.O. 12596, 52 FR 17537, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 264.

Subpart I--Probation on Initial Appointment to a Supervisory or 
Managerial Position

0
10. Amend Sec.  315.909 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  315.909   Relationship to other actions.

* * * * *
    (b) An action which demotes an employee to a lower grade than the 
one the employee left to accept the supervisory or managerial position, 
and an action against an employee for reasons other than supervisory or 
managerial performance, is governed by procedures under part 432 or 752 
of this chapter, whichever is applicable. This section does not 
preclude an employee from filing a complaint, appeal, or other matter 
within the independent jurisdiction of the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or the Office of 
Special Counsel, consistent with Sec.  751.101(e) of this chapter.

[FR Doc. 2026-17336 Filed 8-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P


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