Trump Administration Orders Federal Agencies to Identify Underperforming Employees

The Trump administration has instructed all federal agencies to submit lists of employees who are underperforming as part of an effort to reduce the government workforce. This move comes as the administration waits for a court ruling concerning its deferred resignation program.

A memo, issued on Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), directs federal departments to provide names of any employee who has received a rating lower than “fully successful” in the past three years. Agencies are also required to indicate if those employees have been placed on performance improvement plans (PIPs).

The memo, which was reviewed by The Associated Press, stresses that agencies report any barriers that may hinder their ability to swiftly terminate employees who are deemed incapable or unwilling to improve their performance.

The OPM has requested detailed information, including the employee’s name, job title, pay scale, and whether the employee was involved in a performance improvement plan within the past year. It also asks whether the agency has proposed or made decisions regarding terminations and if any such decisions are being appealed, along with the results of those appeals.

The deadline for submitting the requested data is set for March 7.

In his communication, Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM, noted that the office is working on developing new metrics for evaluating federal employees that align with the President’s recent executive orders. He also emphasized that all agencies should provide information on their performance management policies, including any relevant provisions in collective bargaining agreements.

So far, around 65,000 federal employees have opted into the administration's deferred resignation program, according to a White House official who spoke anonymously. The program, however, is currently facing a legal challenge, with a federal judge scheduled to hold a hearing on Monday to determine whether it can proceed.