# How a Federal Employee Is Fired
[[Federal Workforce Structure Tree]] maps the civil service as a legal structure — which service a position sits in and what removal protection comes with it. It does not map the exit. This page is the exit, and the reason it needs its own map is that **the route out is chosen by facts about the position, not by what the employee did.** Two people can be separated on the same day for the same reason and be owed entirely different things: a thirty-day written notice, a reply, a hearing before an administrative judge and an appeal to a federal court of appeals — or a letter, with no appeal of any kind.
The queue item that commissioned this map asked which of four routes the 2025–26 mass separations used, and what happens to an [[Merit Systems Protection Board]] appeal when the Board lacks a quorum. Both halves of that question have decayed, and the decay is the finding. **There are now five routes, not four** — Schedule Policy/Career became a real exit on 9 March 2026 — and the quorum question is largely moot, because three of the five routes no longer reach the MSPB at all. The Board's quorum was restored in late 2025 when [[James Woodruff]] was confirmed to sit alongside [[Henry Kerner]]; what the MSPB lost in 2026 was not its quorum but its caseload. In a single *Federal Register* issue — Vol. 91, No. 147, 3 August 2026 — [[OPM]] moved appeals of reductions in force, probationary terminations and suitability actions out of the MSPB and into itself, effective 2 September 2026, and each of the three rules retains a provision foreclosing judicial review.
⭐ **So the structural fact this map exists to show is convergence.** Of the five routes out of federal employment, exactly one still ends in front of an adjudicator outside the employing branch and a court: the ordinary performance-or-conduct removal under chapters 43 and 75, which runs to an MSPB administrative judge, then the Board, then the Federal Circuit. It is also the slowest and most procedurally expensive route — and on 5 October 2026, nine days before this map was built, the MSPB stopped being required to test the agency's chosen penalty against the twelve [[Douglas Factors]]. The other four routes are adjudicated, reviewed and closed inside the executive branch, three of them by the same agency that wrote the rules governing them and whose Director serves at the pleasure of the official who ordered the separations. That is not a claim about outcomes. It is a claim about where the road ends.
Sibling maps: [[How a Federal Agency Is Dismantled]] is the same period read as an *institutional* procedure rather than an individual one — what empties an agency without abolishing it; [[How a Security Clearance Is Granted and Revoked]] is the adjacent personnel-security machine, and its organizing split (an adjudicated status with process versus a permission withdrawn in an afternoon) is the same split that runs through this page. [[Federal Whistleblower Protection Crosswalk]] maps the collateral forums listed at the foot of the chart.
> [!note] How to read this chart
> `──▶` = the main path · `└─▶` = a branch or off-ramp · `◇` = a decision point that selects a route · `✕` = no appeal of the separation exists · `⚖` = adjudicated by a body outside the employing agency, with judicial review · `⬛` = adjudicated inside the executive branch, no judicial review · `⏱` = a statutory or regulatory clock · `★` = changed in 2026 · `[cite]` = the controlling authority. Day counts are the maximums the regulation allows. Everything inside the fence is plain text; linked entities appear in the prose, Notes and See also.
```
HOW A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE IS FIRED — THE FIVE ROUTES OUT (as of 14 October 2026)
│ Legend: ──▶ main path └─▶ branch/off-ramp ◇ route-selecting decision
│ ✕ no appeal exists ⚖ outside adjudicator + judicial review
│ ⬛ adjudicated inside the executive branch, no judicial review
│ ⏱ statutory/regulatory clock ★ changed in 2026
│
■ 0. THE PREMISE — the ROUTE is chosen by the POSITION, not by the conduct
│ Four facts about the appointment, all settled before any misconduct or
│ budget decision exists, decide what the employee is owed:
│ ├─ SERVICE ....... competitive · excepted · Senior Executive Service
│ ├─ SCHEDULE ...... A · B · C · D (Pathways) · E · G · ★ Policy/Career
│ ├─ TENURE ........ career (group I) · career-conditional (II) · probationary
│ └─ PREFERENCE .... 30%-or-more disabled · other preference eligible · none
│
│ ◇ still inside a probationary or trial period? ─────────── yes ──▶ ROUTE C
│ ◇ position moved into Schedule Policy/Career? ──────────── yes ──▶ ROUTE E
│ ◇ separation driven by headcount or restructuring? ─────── yes ──▶ ROUTE B
│ ◇ OPM asserting post-appointment UNSUITABILITY? ────────── yes ──▶ ROUTE D
│ └─ otherwise — performance or conduct ──────────────────────────▶ ROUTE A
│
├─◆ ROUTE A — PERFORMANCE OR CONDUCT ⚖ THE ONLY ROUTE TO A COURT
│ │ [5 U.S.C. ch. 43 · ch. 75 · 5 CFR 432 · 5 CFR 752]
│ │
│ ├─ (A1) UNACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE [ch. 43, 5 U.S.C. 4303]
│ │ rating of record at Level 1 ──▶ opportunity to demonstrate acceptable
│ │ performance (the "PIP") ──▶ failure to improve
│ │ ⏱ 30 days advance written notice · specific instances · reply period
│ │ ⏱ decision within 30 days after the notice period ends
│ │ ★ PROPOSED, NOT FINAL: a 30-day cap on the opportunity period, removal
│ │ as the default penalty, no pre-PIP [91 FR 40444, comments reopened]
│ │
│ ├─ (A2) MISCONDUCT / EFFICIENCY OF THE SERVICE [ch. 75, 5 U.S.C. 7513]
│ │ ⏱ 30 days advance written notice stating the specific reasons
│ │ ├─ right to review the material relied on
│ │ ├─ ⏱ at least 7 days to answer, orally and in writing
│ │ ├─ right to representation by an attorney or other representative
│ │ └─ written decision at the earliest practicable date, with reasons
│ │
│ └──▶ APPEAL [5 U.S.C. 7701]
│ MSPB administrative judge ──▶ initial decision
│ └─▶ petition for review ──▶ MSPB Board (3 seats · 2 = quorum)
│ ★ 5 Oct 2026: the 12 DOUGLAS FACTORS are no longer a mandatory
│ checklist. Where the Board sustains the charge, the question
│ is whether the penalty is "within the tolerable limits of
│ reasonableness in light of the totality of the circumstances."
│ Lachance v. Devall codified at 5 CFR 1201.56.
│ [91 FR 56549 · applies to appeals FILED on or after 5 Oct 2026]
│ └──▶ ⚖ U.S. Court of Appeals for the FEDERAL CIRCUIT [5 U.S.C. 7703]
│
├─◆ ROUTE B — REDUCTION IN FORCE ⬛ MOVED TO OPM 2 SEP 2026
│ │ [5 CFR 351 · ★ 91 FR 49178 (procedures) · ★ 91 FR 49230 (appeals)]
│ │
│ ├─ 1. COMPETITIVE AREA — the organizational unit, or a geographic location
│ │ defined as its own area. Must be clearly distinguished from others in
│ │ operation, work function, staff and supervisory oversight.
│ │ ⏱ an area in effect under 90 days, or materially modified, must be
│ │ described and justified to OPM before the RIF ★
│ ├─ 2. COMPETITIVE LEVEL — positions interchangeable in grade, series, duties
│ ├─ 3. RETENTION REGISTER — ★ SEPARATE registers for competitive and excepted
│ │ service, each with two tenure subgroups
│ │
│ ├─ 4. ★ THE NEW ORDER OF RETENTION FACTORS — performance first, tenure last
│ │ (a) tenure group
│ │ (b) PERFORMANCE CREDIT, augmented by veterans' preference
│ │ three most recent ratings of record from the prior 4 years
│ │ Level 5 = 7 pts · Level 4 = 5 · Level 3 = 3 · Level 1-2 = 0
│ │ raw maximum 21 · agency may set a cutoff date for new ratings
│ │ preference: +5 (30%-or-more disabled) · +3 (other) · 0 (none)
│ │ (c) tenure subgroup ....... tiebreaker
│ │ (d) service computation date ... final tiebreaker
│ │ ⚠ a non-preference employee with materially higher ratings can now
│ │ outrank a preference eligible — preference no longer sits above
│ │ performance, it is added to it
│ │
│ ├─ 5. ★ BUMP AND RETREAT IS GONE — replaced by ASSIGNMENT RIGHTS to a
│ │ qualifying position held by someone of lower retention standing in the
│ │ same tenure group, generally within 3 grades (5 if 30%+ disabled)
│ │
│ ├─ 6. SPECIFIC RIF NOTICE [5 CFR 351.802] — retention standing is FIXED on
│ │ the date this notice is received. A simplified notice is allowed
│ │ where an entire competitive area is abolished within 180 days. ★
│ │
│ └──▶ ★ APPEAL — furlough over 30 days · separation · demotion
│ ⬛ OPM Merit System Accountability and Compliance (MSAC) replaces the
│ MSPB as the adjudicative agency. Record-based; a hearing only where
│ a material credibility dispute cannot be resolved on the record.
│ ⏱ file within 30 calendar days of the effective date (11:59 pm ET, day 30)
│ ⏱ agency response + complete certified record: 30 days
│ ⏱ appellant reply: 15 days — new allegations only from information first
│ disclosed in the agency response, or by OPM leave for good cause
│ ⏱ OPM initial decision: 120 days
│ ⏱ final 30 days after issuance unless reconsideration is requested
│ └─▶ the OPM DIRECTOR may review a nonfinal decision on the Director's
│ own initiative. No party has a right to request that review.
│ ✕ NO JUDICIAL REVIEW — the rule retains a no-review provision
│ └─▶ carve-out: notices ISSUED before 2 Sep 2026, and appeals already
│ pending, stay at the MSPB under the prior procedures
│
├─◆ ROUTE C — PROBATIONARY OR TRIAL PERIOD ⬛ MOVED TO OPM 2 SEP 2026
│ │ [5 CFR 315 subpt. H · E.O. 14284 · ★ 91 FR 49072]
│ │
│ ├─ E.O. 14284, 24 Apr 2025 — "Strengthening Probationary Periods"
│ │ ├─ agencies may weigh factors BEYOND performance and conduct, including
│ │ │ whether continued employment "would advance organizational goals"
│ │ ├─ no obligation to furnish conclusions on inadequate performance
│ │ └─ ⏱ the agency head or designee must AFFIRMATIVELY CERTIFY continued
│ │ employment within 30 days before the probationary period ends —
│ │ silence now ends the appointment instead of confirming it
│ │
│ ├─ TERMINATION — no PIP · no 30-day notice · no statement of reasons,
│ │ unless the termination rests on PRE-APPOINTMENT reasons, which carries
│ │ notice and a reply
│ │
│ └──▶ ★ APPEAL — ⬛ OPM MSAC, on TWO GROUNDS ONLY:
│ ├─ discrimination based on partisan political reasons or marital status
│ └─ failure to follow the procedures for a pre-appointment termination
│ ⏱ file within 30 days · ⏱ OPM initial decision within 60 days
│ ✕ no appeal on the merits of the performance or conduct judgment
│ ✕ NO JUDICIAL REVIEW
│
├─◆ ROUTE D — SUITABILITY ⬛ OPM, SOLE JURISDICTION
│ │ [5 CFR 731 · ★ 91 FR 39361 (factors) · ★ 91 FR 49034 (appeals)]
│ │
│ ├─ ★ 30 Jun 2026 — suitability now reaches CURRENT EMPLOYEES for conduct
│ │ AFTER appointment, in the competitive service and the career SES.
│ │ OPM: "Employees who engage in serious misconduct while in the Federal
│ │ service are equally as unsuitable for Federal employment as applicants."
│ │ Agencies MUST refer; OPM keeps sole jurisdiction; ch. 75 stays available
│ │ to the agency as a parallel option.
│ │
│ ├─ THE FACTORS [5 CFR 731.202(b)]
│ │ ├─ misconduct or negligence in employment — now expressly including
│ │ │ theft or misuse of Government resources and equipment, and REFUSAL
│ │ │ TO CERTIFY COMPLIANCE WITH NONDISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS ★
│ │ ├─ failure to comply with financial obligations or generally applicable
│ │ │ civil legal obligations — the "knowing and willful" intent
│ │ │ requirement was REMOVED from the proposed text ★
│ │ ├─ a bar to lawful employment under law, regulation or executive order,
│ │ │ with citizenship or nationality requirements as the example ★
│ │ ├─ alcohol use — now applies to all individuals, not only applicants ★
│ │ └─ criminal or dishonest conduct · false statements · refusal to furnish
│ │ testimony (the 5 CFR 5.4 example was dropped) ★
│ │
│ ├─ PROCESS OWED [subpts. C-D] — written notice of the proposed action and
│ │ its specific reasons · the right to review the material relied on · a
│ │ written reply · representation · written notice of the final decision
│ │ ⏱ removal must occur within 5 WORKDAYS of the final decision
│ │ └─▶ DEBARMENT of up to 3 years, and it may be governmentwide
│ │
│ └──▶ ★ APPEAL — ⬛ OPM Suitability Executive Agent (SuitEA) [subpt. E]
│ ⏱ 30 days to file · ⏱ OPM initial decision within 60 days
│ ⏱ final 30 days after issuance unless reconsideration or Director reopen
│ ✕ NO JUDICIAL REVIEW
│ └─▶ carve-out: appeals FILED at the MSPB before 2 Sep 2026 stay there
│
└─◆ ROUTE E — SCHEDULE POLICY/CAREER ✕ NO APPEAL AT ALL
│ [5 CFR 213.3601 · 5 CFR 210, 212, 302, 432, 451, 752 · ★ 91 FR 5580]
│
├─ THE RULE — 6 Feb 2026, effective 9 Mar 2026. A new excepted-service
│ schedule for career positions "of a confidential, policy-determining,
│ policy-making, or policy-advocating character." OPM's term for them is
│ POLICY-INFLUENCING. They remain career jobs filled on a nonpartisan
│ basis — and they are at-will.
│
├─ HOW A POSITION GETS THERE
│ agency workforce assessment ──▶ petition to OPM ──▶ OPM review and
│ recommendation ──▶ THE PRESIDENT decides ──▶ executive order
│ └─▶ E.O. 14410, Jun 2026 — about 8,000 positions moved, far below the
│ ~50,000 projected while the rule was pending ★
│
├─ WHAT THE INCUMBENT KEEPS AND LOSES
│ ├─ KEEPS competitive STATUS, but does not remain in the competitive
│ │ SERVICE while in the excepted position
│ ├─ KEEPS student loan repayment and recruitment/relocation/retention
│ │ incentives — the April 2024 amendments were rescinded ★
│ ├─ LOSES ch. 75 adverse-action procedure and the adverse-action appeal
│ └─ LOSES ch. 43 performance-action procedure
│
└──▶ SEPARATION
✕ no notice period, no reply, no adjudicator, no appeal of the action
the only internal check: agencies "must establish and enforce internal
policies barring PPPs including whistleblower reprisal," and personal
or political loyalty tests are barred as a condition of employment
[5 CFR 213.3601(e)] — an agency self-policing obligation, not a remedy
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
COLLATERAL FORUMS — they survive all five routes, and they reach the REASON,
never the retention standing, the suitability determination or the penalty
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
├─ OSC ...... prohibited personnel practices, 5 U.S.C. 2302(b); whistleblower
│ reprisal under 2302(b)(8) and 2302(b)(13); an individual right
│ of action to the MSPB after OSC closes or sits on the complaint
├─ EEOC ..... discrimination under the EEO statutes — these claims CANNOT be
│ attached to an OPM appeal and must be filed separately
├─ MSPB ..... only where it has INDEPENDENT jurisdiction: USERRA · VEOA
├─ DOL VETS . veterans' employment and reemployment rights
└─ IG ....... agency Inspector General complaint
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
THE CONVERGENCE — one road out of five still leaves the executive branch
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
ROUTE A ch. 43 / ch. 75 ....... MSPB AJ → Board → Federal Circuit ⚖
ROUTE B reduction in force .... OPM MSAC → OPM Director ⬛ ✕
ROUTE C probationary .......... OPM MSAC, two grounds only ⬛ ✕
ROUTE D suitability ........... OPM SuitEA → OPM Director ⬛ ✕
ROUTE E Schedule Policy/Career nothing ✕
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Routes B, C and D were all moved in ONE Federal Register issue — Vol. 91,
No. 147, 3 August 2026 — and all took effect on ONE day, 2 September 2026.
Route A, the sole survivor, is also the slowest and the most expensive to run.
```
## Notes
- **The premise-decay in the commissioning brief.** The queue item (banked 2026-09-12, promoted 2026-09-14) framed the question as "what happens to an MSPB appeal when the board itself lacks a quorum." The MSPB's record-breaking quorum drought ran from April 2025 until [[James Woodruff]] was confirmed on 7 October 2025 and sworn in on 28 October 2025, restoring a two-member quorum alongside [[Henry Kerner]]. Woodruff was then confirmed as Chairman on 7 August 2026 and sworn in on 21 August 2026. The third seat is vacant. So the quorum question has a date-stamped answer — and in 2026 it is the wrong question, because three of the five routes out no longer reach the Board.
- **Capacity, not quorum, is the live MSPB question.** FEDweek reported on 21 April 2026 that the Board had issued just six precedent-setting decisions since the quorum was restored, and cited Bloomberg News finding roughly 40 percent of cases brought to the Board rejected on recusals. The ~3,800-appeal backlog from the first Trump administration had been substantially cleared by early 2025. Treat the six-decision figure as FEDweek's count of *precedent-setting* decisions, not of all Board dispositions.
- **Which route the mass separations actually used — the answer is "mostly none of them."** GAO-26-108583 (17 June 2026) found nearly **378,000 separations** across the 22 CFO Act agencies during 2025 against about 127,000 hires, a net decline of **nearly 256,000 — more than 11 percent** from December 2024 to January 2026, with declines ranging from about 1 percent at DHS to over 45 percent at Education, and 18 of 22 agencies down more than 10 percent. About **65 percent of the separations fell in the second half of 2025**, as [[Deferred Resignation Program]] acceptances came due. GAO does not break the total down by mechanism, so the share attributable to a formal [[Reduction in Force]] cannot be stated from this source.
- **The probationary cohort is the one place the mechanism is partly visible.** GAO-26-108557 (9 June 2026) found that across 11 agencies probationers separated at 19 percent against 15 percent for all employees; of roughly **282,000 probationary employees, about 53,000 separated**, of which GAO attributes **78.6 percent to resignations** (including retirements and deferred resignations) and **17.8 percent to involuntary action**. Applying that share would imply roughly 9,400 involuntary probationary separations — that arithmetic is this page's, not GAO's, and GAO expressly cautions that its separation data cannot distinguish a newly hired probationer from one newly promoted into a supervisory probationary period.
- **The three appeals rules, with their citations.** *Reduction in Force Appeals*, 91 FR 49230 (3 Aug 2026), RIN 3206-AO99, 5 CFR 351, effective 2 Sep 2026 — applies only where the specific RIF notice issues on or after that date. *Suitability Action Appeals*, 91 FR 49034, 5 CFR 731 subpt. E, effective 2 Sep 2026 — does not apply to appeals filed at the MSPB before that date. *Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals*, 91 FR 49072, RIN 3206-AO96, 5 CFR 11, 230, 315, 432, 751, 752, effective 2 Sep 2026 — applies only to actions effected on or after that date.
- **The RIF procedures rule is a separate document from the RIF appeals rule.** *Reduction in Force*, 91 FR 49178 (3 Aug 2026), RIN 3206-AO86, amending 5 CFR 316, 330, 351, 353, 359, 362 and 430, effective 2 Sep 2026, with a correcting amendment at FR Doc. 2026-18800 (15 Sep 2026). It is the document that reordered the retention factors and abolished bump-and-retreat; the appeals rule is the document that moved the forum.
- **99 percent of commenters opposed moving RIF appeals to OPM**, per the final rule itself — roughly 1,250 comments. [[Scott Kupor]] defended the new process as "structurally independent," with separate staff for determinations and appeals, and argued the MSPB backlog ran "many months and, in some cases, years" and that the change avoids "a multi-year odyssey" that mainly generates attorneys' fees. Former MSPB member Raymond Limon called the new process "a paper exercise." Commenters questioned OPM's capacity, noting the agency has lost more than a third of its own internal staff; OPM replied that it has "sufficient staffing and resources in place" and may adjust staffing "as necessary."
- **The *Douglas* change is nine days old and is the freshest thing on this page.** *Determining the Appropriate Penalty for Federal Employees Charged With Misconduct*, 91 FR 56549 (3 Sep 2026), RIN 3124-AA35, amending 5 CFR 1201.56, **effective 5 October 2026**. It is an MSPB final rule, issued alone out of the joint OPM–MSPB proposal at 91 FR 40444. It applies to appeals **filed** on or after 5 October 2026; appeals pending on that date are decided under the framework in effect when they were filed. The MSPB's own framing is that the *Douglas* considerations remain relevant where the record makes them material — what ends is their status as a mandatory checklist.
- **OPM's half of that joint proposal is NOT final.** *Promoting Employee Accountability*, 91 FR 40444 (2 Jul 2026), RIN 3206-AO91, 5 CFR 412, 432, 715, 752 and 1201, drew 719 comments and had its comment period **reopened** on 15 September 2026 (FR Doc. 2026-18943). The 30-day cap on the opportunity-to-improve period, removal as the default penalty for unacceptable performance, the bar on settlements that scrub performance or conduct records, the abandonment standard, the removal of progressive-discipline requirements and the annual supervisor-training requirement are all **proposed only** as of this build, and are marked as such inside the fence.
- **Schedule Policy/Career has no vault page of its own and cannot easily get one** — a slash in an Obsidian filename is a path separator. The concept is carried by [[Schedule F]], and the implementing order by [[Executive Order 14410]]. The governing rule is *Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service*, 91 FR 5580 (6 Feb 2026), RIN 3206-AO80, effective 9 March 2026, amending 5 CFR 210, 212, 213, 302, 432, 451, 537, 575 and 752.
- **Officeholders verified for this build.** OPM Director: [[Scott Kupor]]. MSPB: Chairman [[James Woodruff]] (member term to 1 March 2032), Vice Chairman [[Henry Kerner]], one seat vacant. Special Counsel: [[Charles Baldis]], confirmed and sworn in 7 August 2026 — the seat the withdrawn Ingrassia nomination had left open. No acting designations found at any of the three.
- **Litigation status is deliberately left open.** This build found no reported pre-enforcement challenge to the three August 2026 appeals rules or to the September 2026 *Douglas* rule — but an absence of search hits is not a finding, and that status is **[unconfirmed]**. The broader 2025 reorganization litigation is a different fight: the Supreme Court stayed the district-court injunction against the reorganization-and-RIF executive order in July 2025, and a September 2025 district court held that OPM lacked authority to direct other agencies to terminate probationers, with the government appealing. Neither line of cases is about the forum changes mapped here.
- **The no-judicial-review provisions are the load-bearing claim on this page and the one most worth watching.** All three August 2026 rules retain them. Whether a regulation can foreclose Article III review of a statutory employment right is exactly the question a challenge would raise, and nothing in the rules answers it.
- **What this map does not cover.** Senior Executive Service removals and transfers (5 U.S.C. 3592, 5 CFR 359) are excluded from the RIF appeals rule and run on their own track. Administrative Law Judge removals under 5 U.S.C. 7521 are a separate statutory scheme. Removals of *officers* — the Wilcox, Boyle, Slaughter and Cook line of removal-power cases — are a constitutional question about principal and inferior officers, not a civil-service procedure, and belong with [[Executive Order 14410]] and the unitary-executive material rather than here.
## See also
- [[Federal Workforce Structure Tree]] — the structure this page is the exit from: which service each position sits in, and what protection comes with it
- [[How a Federal Agency Is Dismantled]] — the same 2025–26 period as an institutional procedure rather than an individual one
- [[How a Security Clearance Is Granted and Revoked]] — the adjacent personnel-security machine, built on the same status-versus-permission split
- [[Federal Whistleblower Protection Crosswalk]] — the collateral forums at the foot of the chart, mapped against what each one can actually reach
- [[Merit Systems Protection Board]] · [[OPM]] · [[Office of Special Counsel]] — the three adjudicative bodies in the chart
- [[Douglas Factors]] — the penalty framework the MSPB stopped being required to apply on 5 October 2026
- [[Civil Service Reform Act of 1978]] — the statute that created the MSPB, OSC and OPM out of the old Civil Service Commission, and whose independence design is what the 2026 forum changes cut against
- [[Schedule F]] · [[Executive Order 14410]] · [[Excepted Service]] · [[Competitive Service]] · [[Senior Executive Service]] — the service and schedule categories that select the route
- [[Reduction in Force]] · [[Deferred Resignation Program]] · [[DOGE]] · [[AFGE]] — the instruments and actors of the 2025–26 separations
- [[Inspector General Oversight Tree]] — the IG layer named in the collateral forums
- [[United States Courts of Appeals]] — the Federal Circuit, the only court at the end of any of the five routes
- [[Federal Agencies Hub]] · [[Foundations Hub]]