The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2026, concerning reduction in force. That document contained typographical a...
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule in the
Federal Register
on August 3, 2026, concerning reduction in force. That document contained typographical and clerical errors in amendatory instructions and in the regulatory text. This document corrects the final rule.
DATES:
Effective September 2, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Aaron Gottesman, Senior Advisor to the Director, by email at
employeeaccountability@opm.gov
or by phone at (202) 606-7400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OPM published a final rule on August 3, 2026 (91 FR 49178; FR Doc. 2026-15665), amending 5 CFR parts 316, 330, 351, 353, 359, 362, and 430. The document contained typographical and clerical errors, including: amendatory instructions that do not match the current text or structure of the Code of Federal Regulations (instruction 15 directs the addition of § 330.707(w), which already exists as “[Reserved]”; instruction 36 directs revision of introductory text of § 351.802(a), which has no introductory text; and instruction 39 quotes text for removal from § 353.110(a)(1) that does not match the Code of Federal Regulations); incorrect “of this part” references to §§ 11.2 and 11.3 of this title, which are located in 5 CFR part 11; a defective list structure in the definition of “Qualified” in § 330.202 and in § 351.702(a)(4)(iv); and citation-form errors.
This document also corrects typographical and cross-reference errors in provisions of 5 CFR part 316, which the final rule likewise amended: § 316.301(c)(1) refers to a covered position “defined in (2)” rather than “defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section”; § 316.402(b)(4) reads “30 percent of more” rather than “30 percent or more”; § 316.403(b)(1) cites § 316.402(b)(5) as the authority for noncompetitive temporary appointments of disabled veterans, although that paragraph concerns appointment under 31 U.S.C. 732(g) for current and former employees of the General Accounting Office and the correct citation is § 316.402(b)(4), appointment under 5 U.S.C. 3112 (veterans with compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more); § 316.403(b)(2) cites section 4114 of title 38, United States Code, which was repealed by Public Law 102-40 (May 7, 1991) and replaced by section 7405 of title 38, the current authority for temporary appointments of nurses in the Department of Veterans Affairs; and § 316.403(b)(3) ends with a period rather than a semicolon. This document adds
( printed page 54795)
amendatory instructions to the final rule to correct these errors in part 316.
In addition, this rule and the Reduction in Force Appeals final rule published the same day (91 FR 49230) each revised the authority citation for part 351 with differing text; this document conforms instruction 16 to the version published in the Reduction in Force Appeals rule, which includes 5 U.S.C. 1103 and 1104, the provisions supporting the appeals function established in subpart I of part 351. This document corrects those errors before the rule's effective date. The corrections are non-substantive.
Signing Statement
The Director of OPM, Scott Kupor, reviewed and approved this document and has authorized the undersigned to electronically sign and submit this document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
Office of Personnel Management.
Jerson Matias,
Federal Register Liaison.
Correction
In FR Doc. 2026-15665, appearing on page 49178 in the
Federal Register
of Monday, August 3, 2026, the following corrections are made:
1. On page 49215, in the third column, after amendatory instruction 1, add amendatory instructions 1a, 1b, and 1c to read as follows:
1a. Amend § 316.301 by removing, in paragraph (c)(1), the words “defined in (2)” and adding in their place the words “defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section”.
3. On page 49216, in § 330.202, in the definition of “Qualified”, paragraph (5)(iv) is corrected to read as follows:
(iv) Acceptable examples of the types of assessments include: structured interviews; a work-related exercise; a custom or generic procedure for measuring an employee's employment or career-related qualifications and interests; a structured resume review; or another assessment, provided that the assessment—
(A) Demonstrates job-related technical skills, abilities, and knowledge; and
(B) Is relevant for the position for which the assessment is developed; and
a. In the definition of “Initial probationary period”, remove “described in § 11.2 of this part” and add in its place “described in § 11.2 of this chapter”;
b. The definition of “Military spouse” is corrected to read as follows:
Military spouse
means a spouse of a member of the armed forces (service member), as defined in § 315.612(b)(4)(i) of this chapter.
c. In the definition of “Trial period”, remove “described in § 11.3 of this part” and add in its place “described in § 11.3 of this chapter”.
9. On page 49219, in § 351.402(b)(1), remove “Except as authorized in paragraph (b)(2),” and add in its place “Except as authorized in paragraph (b)(2) of this section,”.
a. In paragraph (b)(2), remove “in accordance with § 351.501 (as augmented” and add in its place “in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section (as augmented”;
b. In paragraph (d), remove “authorized under 430.208(d) prior to the final rule prescribed at 91 FR 41521)” and add in its place “authorized under § 430.208(d) of this chapter, as in effect prior to the final rule published at 91 FR 41521 (July 7, 2026))”; and
c. In paragraph (e)(2), remove “as authorized under 430.208(d) prior to the final rule prescribed at 91 FR 41521)” and add in its place “as authorized under § 430.208(d) of this chapter, as in effect prior to the final rule published at 91 FR 41521 (July 7, 2026))”.
a. In paragraph (a)(5)(ii), remove “under parts 432 or 752 of this chapter” and add in its place “under part 432 or 752 of this chapter”; and
b. In paragraph (a)(5)(iii), remove “under sections 351.606(b), 351.607, or 351.608 of this chapter” and add in its place “under paragraph (b) of this section or § 351.607 or § 351.608”.
13. On page 49226, in § 351.702(a)(4), paragraph (iv) is corrected to read as follows:
(iv) Acceptable examples of the types of assessments include: structured interviews; a work-related exercise; a custom or generic procedure for measuring an employee's employment or career-related qualifications and interests; a structured resume review; or another assessment, provided that the assessment—
(A) Demonstrates job-related technical skills, abilities, and knowledge; and
(B) Is relevant for the position for which the assessment is developed.
14. On page 49226, amendatory instruction 36 is corrected to read as follows:
( printed page 54796)
36. Amend § 351.802 by adding introductory text to paragraph (a) and revising paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) to read as follows:
15. On page 49226, amendatory instruction 39 is corrected to read as follows:
39. Amend § 353.110 by removing, in paragraph (a)(1), the words “Associate Director for Employment, OPM, 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415” and adding, in their place, the words “Workforce Policy & Innovation by email at
wpintake@opm.gov
”.
5 CFR parts 316
31 U.S.C. 732(g)