New Federal Rule Strips Job Protections from Grant-Making Officials

A new federal personnel rule that took effect this month allows agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to reclassify employees involved in grant-making into a less-protected worker category, stripping them of longstanding civil service protections.

The rule, known as Schedule Policy/Career—an updated version of the Trump administration's earlier Schedule F proposal—removes due-process protections against firing, appeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and standard adverse-action procedures for affected employees.

Who Is Affected and What Changes

The Office of Personnel Management estimates the rule covers roughly 50,000 federal positions government-wide, though the Association of American Medical Colleges has suggested the actual number could be four times higher. Specific counts for NIH and NSF remain undisclosed.

The final rule states that positions "determining or making agency policy" and those with "policy-influencing duties" directing resource allocation are eligible for reclassification with presidential approval. OPM maintains the policy ensures "democratic accountability" and that workers providing "frank and candid advice" have "nothing to fear."

Ninety-four percent of more than 40,500 public comments opposed the rule. The final version remains largely unchanged from the proposal.

What This Means for Grant Applicants

Research advocates warn the rule could have cascading effects on how billions of dollars in federal grants are awarded. Program officers at NIH—who make recommendations on which research proposals receive funding—could face political pressure on funding decisions without the civil service protections that previously insulated merit-based review from partisan influence.

"It will become even harder for us to push back on concerns internally, harder to blow the whistle on concerns externally," one NIH program officer told STAT News.

Administrative law scholars argue that removing tenure protections will weaken the government's ability to recruit scientists from the private sector, where compensation already far exceeds federal pay scales.

How Grant Seekers Should Respond

Applicants to NIH, NSF, and other affected agencies should monitor whether review panel compositions or scoring criteria shift in coming months. Federal unions have filed suit challenging the rule, meaning court orders could alter implementation timelines. Tracking these developments through resources like grantedai.com can help applicants stay ahead of procedural changes.

For deeper analysis of how this rule may reshape federal grant-making, visit the Granted blog.