Easy Termination of Probationary Employees

As predicted several weeks ago, federal employees still serving in a probationary period are a prime target for removal during a downsizing of the federal government. Reality has hit hard, for some of these employees who have been quickly terminated are now out of a job.

A federal government probationary employee is often, but not always, a new federal employee. The probationary period means each individual is going through an evaluation period. This usually lasts for one year. Sometimes, a probationary period can last for up to two years.

It is the final step in the hiring process. The purpose is to assess an employee’s performance, conduct, and suitability for permanent federal employment. It is a period for supervisors to determine whether the employee will successfully perform the job requirements before receiving the employment protection process given to career federal employees.

This means it is easier to fire a probationary employee than a regular career federal employee. Usually, it is much easier. Probationary employees are obvious targets for quickly downsizing the federal workforce. That is probably why OPM recently requested information from agencies on how many probationary federal employees were employed in each agency and required a quick turnaround time for a response.

It is also why FedSmith predicted this was a logical path for OPM to proceed and why FedSmith published this video prior to the expiration of the...

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