Data / Federal rules / 2026-17442
Critical Position Pay Authority
The Personnel Management Office published this final rule in the Federal Register on August 26, 2026. It took effect on August 26, 2026.
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What the agency says
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is amending its regulations governing the critical position pay (CPP) 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. The final rule eliminates non-statutory caps and approval criteria; addresses the use of service agreements; clarifies that reductions or terminations of CPP are not adverse actions or subject to grievance or appeal rights; and clarifies the treatment of critical pay rates as basic pay. This final rule simplifies and better aligns OPM's regulations with governing law and delegated authority.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-17442
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Personnel Management Office
- Published
- August 26, 2026
- Takes effect
- August 26, 2026
- Dates
- Effective date: This regulation is effective August 26, 2026. OPM is waiving the 30-day delayed effective date under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), as this rule relieves restrictions that are not required by statute.
- 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
- 5
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 August 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.