A Schedule C appointment is a type of political appointment in the United States for confidential or policy roles immediately subordinate to other appointees. , there were 1,403 Schedule C appointees. Most of these are confidential assistants, policy experts, special counsels, and schedulers, although about 500 of them are non-policy support roles. Schedule C appointments were created in 1956 and are part of the

excepted service The excepted service is the part of the United States federal civil service that is not part of either the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service. It provides streamlined hiring processes to be used under certain circumstances. Overv ...

Characteristics

Schedule C appointments are considered to be the lowest level of political appointments. George H. W. Bush strategist Lee Atwater was said to have believed strongly in rewarding young campaign staffers with Schedule C positions. The immediate supervisor of a Schedule C position must be a presidential appointee, member of the

Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Servi ...

, or another Schedule C appointee. Schedule C positions generally, but not always, are on the top end of the

General Schedule The General Schedule (GS) is the predominant pay scale within the United States civil service. The GS includes the majority of white collar personnel (professional, technical, administrative, and clerical) positions. , 71 percent of federal civil ...

pay scale at the GS-12 through GS-15 levels. Schedule C appointments tend to be made within each agency and then approved by the Office of Presidential Personnel. Schedule C is the third of five excepted service hiring authorities provided by the

Office of Personnel Management An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific d ...

(OPM) to fill jobs in unusual or special circumstances, when it is not feasible or practical to use traditional competitive hiring procedures. Each Schedule C position requires case-by-case permission from OPM, which expires when their supervisor leaves.

Restrictions

Schedule C and other appointees sometimes attempt to transfer to a career position in the

competitive service The competitive service is a part of the United States federal government civil service. Applicants for jobs in the competitive civil service must compete with other applicants in open competition under the merit system administered by the Office ...

, excepted service, or Senior Executive Service; this practice, known as "burrowing in", is desired by employees due to increased pay and job security, as career positions do not end when a presidential administration changes. As these appointed positions are selected non-competitively, while career employees are supposed to be selected on the basis of merit and without political influence, these conversions are subject to extra scrutiny. In July 2008, members of Congress criticized the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-te ...

and

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

for improperly allowing political employees to convert to career positions. Since 2010, such conversions require advance approval from OPM, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) periodically audits the conversions. OPM must also approve Schedule C appointees being detailed to competitive service positions. In 1992, GAO criticized the practice of hiring Schedule C employees and then immediately detailing them to positions in the

Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and age ...

, and this practice was later banned.

References

{{reflist, 30em Civil service in the United States