Data / Federal rules / 2026-07996
Critical Position Pay Authority
The Personnel Management Office published this proposed rule in the Federal Register on April 24, 2026. Comments closed on May 26, 2026.
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What the agency says
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to amend its regulations governing the critical position pay authority to establish level I of the Executive Schedule as the default maximum critical pay rate, with higher rates subject to written approval by the Director of OPM; eliminate non-statutory caps and approval criteria; address the use of service agreements; clarify reductions or terminations of critical position pay are not adverse actions or subject to grievance or appeal rights; and clarify the treatment of critical pay rates as basic pay. This proposed rule simplifies and better aligns OPM's regulations with governing law and delegated authority.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-07996
- Type
- Proposed rule
- Action
- Proposed rule
- Agency
- Personnel Management Office
- Published
- April 24, 2026
- Comments due
- May 26, 2026
- Dates
- Send comments on or before May 26, 2026.
- Docket
- Docket ID: OPM-2026-0232
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 3206-AP02
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 5 CFR 535; 5 CFR 752
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Freedom of information; Government employees; Law enforcement officers; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Wages
- Pages
- 6
Other documents from the Personnel Management Office
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Leave for Workforce Realignment and Other Purposes 2026-21320 | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Elimination of Time-in-Grade 2026-21319 | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Managing Senior Professional Performance 2026-21316 · significant | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Family and Medical Leave Act 2026-21104 | Final rule | Oct 15 |
| Employment in the Excepted Service 2026-19222 · significant | Proposed rule | Sep 18 |
| Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Optimizing FEHB Plan Offerings 2026-18944 | Proposed rule | Sep 15 |
| Promoting Employee Accountability 2026-18943 | Proposed rule | Sep 15 |
| Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions 2026-18828 · significant | Final rule | Sep 15 |
Everything from the Personnel Management Office · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on freedom of information · Rules on government employees · Published in April 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.