Hiring Authority for College Graduates
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register Feb. 20, 2026. Document 2026-03354. Updated Nov. 14, 2026.
- What it does
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to amend its career and career-conditional employment regulations. The revision is necessary to implement the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. This statute requires OPM to issue regulations establishing a hiring authority for college graduates into positions at specified grades in the competitive service. The intended effect of the authority is to provide additional flexibility in hiring eligible and qualified individuals.
The Personnel Management Office's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What changed in the regulation
1 part of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).
- Compared with
The Personnel Management Office has published 29 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 14 in all of 2025.
Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.
- Before this
No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 3206-AN79 since Jan. 1, 2025.
- What happens next and when
This final rule is effective March 23, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-03354 |
|---|---|
| Action | Final rule. |
| Agencies | Personnel Management Office |
| Published | Feb. 20, 2026 |
| Effective date | March 23, 2026 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 3206-AN79 |
| Docket | OPM-2026-0034 |
| Significant (marked in the Federal Register) | Yes |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register