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United States Office of Personnel Management

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United States Office of Personnel Management
Official seal
Official wordmark
Agency overview
FormedJanuary 1, 1979; 46 years ago (1979-01-01)
Preceding agency
JurisdictionU.S. federal government
HeadquartersTheodore Roosevelt Federal Building
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C., US
Employees2,448 (2021)[1]
Annual budget$329,755,000 (2021)
Agency executive
  • Charles Ezell, Acting Director
Websiteopm.gov

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the United States federal civil service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight, and support, and tends to healthcare (FEHB), life insurance (FEGLI), and retirement benefits (CSRS and FERS, but not TSP) for federal government employees, retirees, and their dependents.[2]

OPM is headed by a director, who is nominated by the President.

History

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The United States Civil Service Commission was created by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. The commission was renamed as the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and most of commission's former functions—with the exception of the federal employees appellate function—were assigned to new agencies, with most being assigned to the newly created U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on January 1, 1979, and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978.

On January 1, 1979, the Office of Personnel Management was established with the dissolution of the U.S. Civil Service Commission following the passage and signing of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 into law by then President Jimmy Carter(43 FR 36037, 92 Stat. 3783).[3]

The United States Office of Government Ethics, responsible for directing executive branch policies relating to the prevention of conflicts of interest on the part of Federal executive branch officers and employees, was formerly a part of OPM, until being spun off as an independent agency in 1989.[4]

In 1996 the investigation branch of the OPM was privatized, and USIS was formed.[5] In 2014, after several scandals, OPM declined to renew its contract with USIS and brought background investigations back in house under the short-lived National Background Investigations Bureau.[6] In 2019, the responsibility for conducting federal background checks changed hands again when NBIB was dissolved and its functions given to the Defense Security Service, part of the Department of Defense, which was reorganized into the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency for the purpose.[7]

Obama era reform efforts

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In July 2013, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) introduced the Office of Personnel Management Inspector General Act.[8] The bill would increase oversight of OPM's revolving fund. Farenthold introduced the bill as a response to accusations of fraud and concerns about security clearance background investigations.[9] The bill would fund the expenses for investigations, oversight activities and audits from the revolving fund.[10] The bill was in response to a find that between 2002 and 2012, OPM's revolving fund had tripled, totaling over $2 billion, or 90% of OPM's budget. In February 2014, President Obama signed the bill into law.[11][12] The fund's history goes back to the early 1980s, where it was used for two main activities: training and background investigations for government personnel.[13]

2015 data breach

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Main article: Office of Personnel Management data breach

In April 2015, hackers working on behalf of the Jiangsu State Security Department, a provincial branch of the Chinese Ministry of State Security spy agency obtained access to 22.1 million SF-86 records of US federal employees, contractors, and their friends and family.[14][15][16] Representing one of the largest breaches of government data in U.S. history, information that was obtained and exfiltrated in the breach included personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, as well as names, dates and places of birth, and addresses.[17][18][19]

New updates regarding this security breach came to light on September 24, 2015. The agency then indicated that additional evidence showed that 5.6 million people's fingerprints were stolen as part of the hacks, more than five times the 1.1 million originally estimated. The total number of individuals whose records were disclosed in whole or part, including Social Security numbers and addresses, remained at 21.5 million.[20]

First Trump administration proposal to merge into GSA

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Between 2018 and 2019, as part of a larger initiative to restructure the executive branch, President Donald Trump (R) submitted a proposal to congress to merge OPM into the General Services Administration (GSA) while returning the federal personnel policy-making components under the direct authority of the Executive Office of the President of the United States to the Office of Management and Budget in the White House. House Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations under the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, was the fiercest critic of the proposal. During a congressional hearing, Connolly claimed: "The administration wants to take over the merit policy-making functions and put them into the highly politicized environment of the White House itself, away from direct congressional oversight and inspector general review." Political pressure against the proposal peaked when a provision barring the President from transferring any function, responsibility, authority, service, system or program that is assigned in law until 6 months after the completion of an "independent report" issued by the federally-chartered National Academy of Public Administration was added to the 1,120 page bill S-1790, a.k.a. the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.[21][22][23][24]

Second Trump administration workforce restructuring and security concerns

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Deferred resignation program

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In January 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) appeared to launch a controversial "deferred resignation" program, offering federal employees the option to resign effective September 30, 2025, while continuing to receive pay and benefits until that date. The program was announced through an email titled "Fork in the Road", framed as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce the size of the federal workforce.[25]

The proposal faced immediate backlash from federal employees and unions. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) warned workers against accepting the offer, citing concerns over potential benefit disputes and unclear legal protections.[26] Legal experts also raised concerns about the unprecedented nature of the program, questioning its compliance with federal employment laws.[27]

Musk's aides and Federal IT oversight

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Reports later revealed that aides associated with Elon Musk had been granted access to OPM's IT infrastructure and had taken steps to lock out career civil servants from key government computer systems. This raised concerns about whether federal workforce decisions were being influenced by private individuals with no formal government role.[28]

Government watchdogs and lawmakers have demanded transparency, questioning whether Musk's associates had legal authority to oversee federal operations. The involvement of outside individuals in federal decision-making raised ethics and security concerns, particularly as the administration pushed significant workforce reductions.[29]

Cybersecurity lawsuit over newly deployed email servers

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Simultaneously, OPM faced scrutiny over a newly deployed email system designed to send mass communications to federal employees. A lawsuit filed by two anonymous federal workers alleged that OPM failed to conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) before launching the system, potentially exposing sensitive government communications.[30]

Critics warned that the system lacked basic encryption protections, making it vulnerable to spoofing, phishing, and unauthorized access. Some federal IT departments reportedly advised employees to flag all messages from the new system as potential phishing attempts due to authentication concerns.[31]

The cybersecurity controversy further exacerbated concerns over OPM's security posture, especially given the agency's history with the 2015 OPM data breach, which compromised personal records of over 21 million federal employees.[32] As of early 2025, OPM had not confirmed whether the vulnerabilities had been mitigated, and the lawsuit remained ongoing.

Function

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According to its website, the mission of the OPM is "recruiting, retaining and honoring a world-class force to serve the American people."[33] The OPM is partially responsible for maintaining the appearance of independence and neutrality in the administrative law system. While technically employees of the agencies they work for, administrative law judges (or ALJs) are hired exclusively by the OPM, effectively removing any discretionary employment procedures from the other agencies. The OPM uses a rigorous selection process which ranks the top three candidates for each ALJ vacancy, and then makes a selection from those candidates, generally giving preference to veterans.

OPM is also responsible for federal employee retirement applications for FERS and CSRS employees.[34] OPM makes decisions on federal employee regular[35] and disability retirement cases.[36] OPM also oversees FEHB and FEGLI, the health insurance and life insurance programs for Federal employees. However, it does not oversee TSP, which is handled by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), a separate independent agency.

OPM implements Diversity, equity, and inclusion in line with Executive Order 13583 and Executive Order 13985.[37]

Components

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Directors of OPM

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Source: OPM's Agency Leadership Through Time[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Annual Performance Report Archived July 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine (2021). p. 7
  2. ^ "Our Mission, Role & History – What We Do". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Glossary of Terms". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Our History". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Gayathri, Amrutha. "USIS That Vetted Snowden Under Investigation; Booz Allen Hamilton Overlooked Snowden Resume Discrepancies Archived September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine." International Business Times. June 21, 2013. Retrieved on October 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Davenport, Christian (September 9, 2014). "USIS contracts for federal background security checks won't be renewed". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "The National Background Investigations Bureau Moves to the Department of Defense". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "OPM IG Act (H.R. 2860)” Archived February 28, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. GovTrack.us. (2014) (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  9. ^ "OPM Inspector General Act signed into law”. Ripon Advance. 2014-02-17 (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  10. ^ "H.R.2860 OPM IG Act”[usurped] The Week in Congress; Volume 10 Number 3. 2014-01-17 (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  11. ^ Carney, Jay (White House Press Secretary). "Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 2860, S. 1901” Archived December 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. 2014-02-12 (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  12. ^ Reilly, Sean. "OPM inspector general getting more money for revolving fund oversight”. Federal Times. 2014-02-13 (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  13. ^ U.S. Government Accountability Office. "OPM's Revolving Fund Policy Should Be Clarified and Management Controls Strengthened” Archived December 2, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. GGD-84-23: Published: Oct 13, 1983. Publicly Released: Oct 13, 1983 (Retrieved 2014-02-17)
  14. ^ Zengerle, Patricia; Cassella, Megan (July 9, 2015). "Estimate of Americans hit by government personnel data hack skyrockets". Reuters. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  15. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (July 9, 2015). "Hacks of OPM databases compromised 22.1 million people, federal authorities say". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  16. ^ Sanders, Sam (June 4, 2015). "Massive Data Breach Puts 4 Million Federal Employees' Records At Risk". NPR. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  17. ^ Barrett, Devlin (June 5, 2015). "U.S. Suspects Hackers in China Breached About four (4) Million People's Records, Officials Say". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  18. ^ Fruhlinger, Josh (February 12, 2020). "The OPM hack explained: Bad security practices meet China's Captain America". CSO Online. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  19. ^ Risen, Tom (June 5, 2015). "China Suspected in Theft of Federal Employee Records". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  20. ^ Peterson, Andrea (September 24, 2015). "OPM says 5.6 million fingerprints stolen in biggest cyber attack in US history. America doesn't have anything together this is why this happened". Independent. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  21. ^ "Congress Moves to Block OPM-GSA Merger". Government Executive. December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  22. ^ "Congress to formally block OPM-GSA merger with defense authorization bill". Federal News Network. December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  23. ^ "Remarks by President Trump at Signing Ceremony for S.1790, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via National Archives.
  24. ^ "Text of S. 1790: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Passed Congress version) - GovTrack.us". GovTrack. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  25. ^ Taylor, Michael (January 28, 2025). "Trump offering federal workers buyouts with about 8 months' pay in effort to shrink government". Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  26. ^ Johnson, Eric (January 30, 2025). "Federal employees react with confusion and concern over Trump's resignation offer". Business Insider. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  27. ^ Reynolds, Laura (January 29, 2025). "Breaking down OPM's 'Fork in the Road' email to federal workers". Lawfare. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  28. ^ Lyons, Kim (January 31, 2025). "Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  29. ^ Smith, Daniel (January 30, 2025). "Elon Musk Lackeys Have Taken Over the Office of Personnel Management". Wired. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  30. ^ Smith, Daniel (January 31, 2025). "OPM email system under fire for privacy, security concerns". FedScoop. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  31. ^ Collins, Michael (February 1, 2025). "Federal employees confused, angered by Trump's offer to quit". CNN. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  32. ^ Riley, Michael (June 20, 2021). "Inside the OPM Hack, the Cyberattack That Shocked the U.S. Government". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  33. ^ "Biography of an Ideal". Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  34. ^ 7 MAR. "Retirement Info Center". Opm.gov. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ "Pamphlet" (PDF). opm.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  36. ^ berrylegal (December 11, 2016). "OPM Disability Retirement". Federal Employee Law Blog. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  37. ^ "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. June 25, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  38. ^ "Agency Leadership". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  39. ^ "Our Mission: Constance Horner". opm.gov. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  40. ^ "James King". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  41. ^ a b Rosenberg, Alyssa (August 1, 2008). "Bush taps new OPM director". National Journal. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  42. ^ "Linda M. Springer Sworn In as New OPM Director" (Press release). United States Office of Personnel Management. June 29, 2005. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  43. ^ "White House Names Acting Director of OPM" (Press release). United States Office of Personnel Management. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  44. ^ "OPM Director John Berry". United States Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  45. ^ "Kathleen McGettigan". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  46. ^ Yoder, Eric (October 5, 2018). "Trump replaces federal personnel director, in job only a few months, with OMB official". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  47. ^ "OPM Welcomes Director Dale Cabaniss as the Agency's 12th Director". OPM.gov. OPM Office of Communications. September 16, 2019. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  48. ^ Lippman, Daniel (March 17, 2020). "OPM chief Dale Cabaniss abruptly resigns". Politico. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  49. ^ "Michael J. Rigas". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  50. ^ "Kathleen McGettigan". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  51. ^ Bur, Jessie (January 20, 2021). "McGettigan to once again take up temporary personnel leadership". Federal Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  52. ^ "Pres. Biden looks to puts a hold on any midnight regulations from the Trump administration". Federal News Network. January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  53. ^ "Here's Who Is Leading Federal Agencies as Biden Nominees Await Confirmation". Government Executive. January 20, 2021. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  54. ^ @USOPM (June 24, 2021). "It is the honor and privilege of my professional career..." (Tweet). Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Twitter.
  55. ^ "Shriver assumes acting OPM director role". Government Executive. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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