Trump seeks to limit legal options for government workers to contest dismissal

The Trump administration, via the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is proposing to limit the legal options for federal employees contesting dismissal. The plan would end the right of fired workers to appeal to the independent Merit Systems Protection Board. Instead, appeals would go to the OPM, an office reporting to the President. This proposal follows Trump's previous efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and undermine job protections for federal employees. The Merit Systems Protection Board, which mediates disputes between federal workers and their employers, experienced a significant increase in cases after Trump's second term began. Government records show a 266% jump in the board’s caseload from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, compared to the prior year.

In February 2026, the Trump administration proposed a change to the process by which US federal workers can challenge their firings. The proposal, released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), would require terminated employees to appeal directly to the OPM, which reports to the president. Currently, federal workers can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent review board established in 1978. The administration argues this change is part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government and limit workers' ability to challenge personnel decisions. This proposal follows another recent announcement that would reclassify certain high-level civil servants as "at will" employees, potentially affecting approximately 50,000 workers.