Data / Federal rules / 2026-15650
Suitability Action Appeals
The Personnel Management Office published this final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2026. It took effect on September 2, 2026.
SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every rule and proposed rule in the Federal Register each morning, and this page is that reading. Name your industry once and new rules, comment deadlines and effective dates arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as they are published.
What the agency says
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to revise how an applicant, appointee, or employee may appeal a suitability action taken under 5 CFR part 731. OPM will replace the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) as the adjudicative agency for such appeals. The change will streamline suitability action appeals procedures, thereby improving the efficiency, rigor, and timeliness by which OPM and agencies resolve challenges to suitability actions and ensure the integrity and efficiency of the service.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-15650
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Personnel Management Office
- Published
- August 3, 2026
- Takes effect
- September 2, 2026
- Dates
- Effective September 2, 2026. This rule does not apply to appeals filed with the MSPB before the effective date of this final rule.
- Docket
- Docket ID: OPM-2025-0173
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 3206-AO97
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 5 CFR 731
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Authority delegations (Government agencies); Government contracts; Government employees; Investigations
- Significant
- Yes, under Executive Order 12866
- Pages
- 36
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 authority delegations (government agencies) · Rules on government contracts · 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.