1883: The Pendleton Act establishes OPM’s predecessor agency, the Civil Service Commission, and the competitive civil service. It required open, competitive examinations for positions in what was then known as the “classified service”; mandated probationary periods before finalization of appointments to the classified service; and protected classified service employees from being required to engage in political activities.

1907: President Theodore Roosevelt directs federal agencies to create personnel management offices, to better manage the growing federal workforce

1920: The Retirement Act of 1920 creates the federal pension system, a retirement benefit that continues to this day

1923: The Classification Act sets federal salaries according to job duties and sets the standard of equal pay for equal work, making pay more transparent and less dependent on sex, favoritism, personal connections, or agency politics.

1933: The first federal child care program provides child care to Works Progress Administration workers

1939: The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees’ participation in political activities , reinforcing the principle that the bureaucracy should not become an election machine and that federal workers should advance by merit, not partisan service.

1940: Federally subsidized child care centers are created to care for the children of women working in defense agencies and defense-related sectors.

1944: The Veterans’ Preference Act strengthens veterans’ preference in federal hiring and retention.
1948: Public Law 617 bans discrimination against people with physical disabilities in federal hiring, provided the individuals can perform the job duties efficiently and safely.

1949: The Classification Act of 1949 extends “equal pay for equal work” to all federal workers and establishes the General Schedule pay system we still use today.

1953: President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10440, creating Schedule C for positions of a confidential or policy-determining character.

1953: President Eisenhower issues Executive Order 10450 on security requirements for government employment, emphasizing that federal employees in sensitive positions must be reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct, and loyal to the United States.

1962: The Federal Salary Reform Act sets the standard that federal salaries should be comparable to private sector salaries for similar work.

1962: Executive Order 10988 affirms the right of federal workers to unionize and establishes the Federal Labor Relations Council, led by the Civil Service Commission chairperson

1966: President Johnson issued Executive Order 11315, creating the executive assignment program for the top three grades of the General Schedule. This was the precursor to today’s Senior Executive Service.

1970: The Hughes Act enables federal agencies to provide confidential alcohol abuse treatment programs for federal employees, paving the way for other employer-based mental health care initiatives.

1978: The Civil Service Service Reform Act establishes the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as the successor to the U.S. Civil Service Commission and creates the Merit Systems Protection Board and Federal Labor Relations Authority

1979: Federal agencies pilot the idea of flexible work schedules, a workforce benefit adopted permanently in 1985

1982: President Reagan signs the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act, extending alternative work schedule authority while keeping total work requirements intact.

1986: President Reagan signs the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act, creating FERS as a more modern retirement structure combining a basic annuity, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan—bringing federal retirement closer to private-sector-style savings and portability.

1989: The Whistleblower Protection Act expands protections for federal employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse in government.

1990: The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act creates the modern federal locality pay framework, authorizing locality-based comparability payments to address regional pay disparities for General Schedule employees.

1993: The Family and Medical Leave Act provides eligible federal employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying medical, parental, and family-care needs.

1994: The Federal Workforce Restructuring Act authorizes federal “buyouts” and other voluntary separation tools to encourage workforce reductions.

2000: OPM establishes parity between traditional health care and mental health care benefits in the federal employee health benefits program.

2001: Congress requires federal agencies to establish telework policies covering eligible federal employees.

2002: The Chief Human Capital Officers Act creates Chief Human Capital Officer positions across major agencies and establishes the Chief Human Capital Officers Council to modernize federal human capital management.

2010: The Telework Enhancement Act strengthens the governmentwide telework framework, requiring agencies to establish telework policies, determine employee eligibility, use written telework agreements, and report on implementation.

2010: Executive Order 13562 creates the Pathways Programs, modernizing federal internships, recent-graduate hiring, and the Presidential Management Fellows program to improve recruitment of students and early-career talent.

2015: Executive Order 13706 requires paid sick leave for certain employees of federal contractors, expanding workforce protections tied to federal procurement.

2018: President Trump’s Management Agenda identifies “Workforce for the 21st Century” as one of its core drivers and calls for changes to federal hiring, performance management, compensation, benefits, accountability, and labor relations.

2018: President Trump issues a trio of federal workforce executive orders addressing collective bargaining, taxpayer-funded union official time, and employee accountability/removal procedures.

2019: The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act creates up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for qualifying federal employees after the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, effective for qualifying events beginning October 1, 2020.

2020: President Trump issues Executive Order 13932, directing agencies to modernize federal hiring by expanding valid, competency-based assessments and reducing unnecessary reliance on educational credentials when evaluating candidates.

2020: President Trump issues Executive Order 13950, restricting certain race- and sex-related stereotyping or scapegoating content in federal agency, contractor, and related workforce training.

2025: President Trump imposes a federal civilian hiring freeze, with exceptions for military personnel, immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety positions.

2025: President Trump directs agencies to terminate remote-work arrangements and require federal employees to return to in-person work at their duty stations full-time, subject to limited exemptions.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14170, directing reforms to the federal hiring process with an emphasis on merit, practical skill, constitutional commitment, and improved recruitment of high-caliber civil servants. This Executive Order would become the basis for the Federal Merit Hiring Plan.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14171, creating Schedule Policy/Career for certain policy-influencing career positions.

2025: President Trump issues a memorandum on career Senior Executive Service accountability, directing agencies to revise SES performance plans, review SES assignments, and use available authorities to reinforce executive accountability.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14151 and Executive Order 14173 to terminate federal DEI programs and preferences and reshape federal contractor civil-rights and affirmative-action enforcement, including the revocation of Executive Order 11246.

2025: OPM launches the Deferred Resignation Program, allowing eligible federal employees to resign effective September 30, 2025, while generally retaining pay and benefits during the deferred period.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14251, excluding numerous agencies or agency components from federal labor-management relations coverage where national security functions are determined to be involved.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14356, strengthening probationary and trial periods to ensure that they are used by agencies to assess the fitness of new hires.

2025: President Trump issues Executive Order 14317, creating Schedule G in the excepted service for certain noncareer policy-making or policy-advocating positions that are normally subject to change during a presidential transition.

2025: President Trump’s Management Agenda lists “Downsizing the Federal Workforce,” “Fostering a Merit-Based Workforce,” and “Leveraging Technology to Deliver Faster, More Secure Services" as major goals.

2026: OPM launches the Federal Workforce Data site, allowing seamless and modern access to data on the Federal workforce.

2026: OPM finalizes the Schedule Policy/Career rule implementing Executive Order 14171, establishing the new excepted-service schedule for certain policy-influencing career positions while stating that such positions remain career and merit-based.

Leaders of this agency have influenced and guided the development of human resources management in the federal government since the passage of the Pendleton Act. This site is provided as a historical nod to those individuals who created and continue to maintain the rich history of this agency.

Former Office of Personnel Management Directors

• Dale Cabaniss (September 2019-March 17, 2020)
• Jeff T. H. Pon (March 9, 2018 - October 5, 2018)
• Katherine Archuleta (May 23, 2013 – July 10, 2015) 
• John Berry (April 13, 2009 – April 13, 2013)
• Linda M. Springer (June 28, 2005 - August 13, 2008)
• Kay Coles James (July 11, 2001 - January 31, 2005)
• Janice R. Lachance (November 12, 1997 - January 20, 2001)
• James B. King (April 7, 1993 - September 1, 1997)
• Constance Berry Newman (June 8, 1989 - June 30, 1992)
• Constance Horner (August 22, 1985 - May 10, 1989)
• Donald J. Devine (March 23, 1981 - March 25, 1985)
• Alan K. Campbell (January 2, 1979 - January 20, 1981)

Civil Service Commission Chairman

• Alan K. Campbell (May 5, 1977 - January 2, 1979)
• Robert E. Hampton (January 21, 1969 - March 1, 1979)
• John W. Macy, Jr. (March 6, 1961 - January 20, 1969)

Visitors entering OPM headquarters, the Theodore Roosevelt Building in Washington, D.C., will see in our lobby a memorial to U.S. civil servants who have died in the line of duty.