Protect Democracy, Democracy Forward and thirty two other organizations together filed a comment opposing a proposed “suitability and fitness” rule by the Trump administration that would further take away rights of federal workers who have spent their careers serving the American people. The proposed rule would allow the government to more easily fire people for alleged misconduct without the protections that current law provides.

In the comment, we argue that the proposed rule is:

• Unlawful because it would circumvent civil service protections that Congress has already granted to federal workers. Authority to modify these protections is exclusive to Congress.
• Intentionally vague, leaving room for politically motivated selective enforcement, which is made worse by centralizing the decision to take action against an employee in OPM. Under this rule, a civil servant could be fired for minimal and non-job-related conduct like a traffic violation.
• Not supported by any evidence that it would be more efficient than existing procedures or otherwise needed.

This proposed rule would create a radical transformation of the civil service, degrading the quality, effectiveness and impartiality of governmental services by increasing the administration’s improper influence over civil servants.