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USA Federal Legislation Simplified

Excepting Administrative Law Judges From the Competitive Service

E.O. 13843
Jul 13, 2018
E.O. 13843
Jul 13, 2018

Summary

Moves Administrative Law Judges from the competitive hiring process to a direct appointment system to give agencies more flexibility and avoid legal issues.

What problem does this solve?

The old method of hiring judges through competitive exams raised legal questions after a Supreme Court case. This order changes the hiring process to give agencies more direct control, which helps avoid future lawsuits.

What does this order do?

Judges moved to excepted service
Moves the position of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) from the competitive service to the 'excepted service,' meaning they are no longer hired through a competitive exam process.
New 'Schedule E' created for ALJs
Establishes a new category, Schedule E, within the excepted service specifically for Administrative Law Judge positions.
Agency heads gain hiring flexibility
Gives federal agency heads more direct control and flexibility to choose ALJ candidates based on qualities they think are important, like judgment and work ethic.
Current judges are not affected
Specifies that current ALJs who were hired under the competitive service will keep their status as long as they stay in their current jobs.
Law license required for new judges
Sets a minimum standard that new ALJ applicants must have a professional license to practice law.

Who does this affect?

  • Administrative Law Judges
  • Federal agencies
  • People with cases before federal agencies

What is the real world impact?

•
Potentially politicizes judicial appointments
Removes the competitive exam process, giving politically appointed agency heads more power to select judges. This could lead to appointments based on loyalty rather than merit, threatening judicial impartiality.
•
Ensures constitutional appointments
Addresses a Supreme Court ruling that questioned the old hiring process for judges, preventing future legal challenges to their decisions.
•
Increases agency hiring flexibility
Allows agency leaders to directly choose judges based on qualities like work ethic and judgment, rather than just exam scores, to better fit the agency's specific needs.

When does this start?

This order took effect on July 10, 2018.