Office of Personnel Management
The Office of Personnel Management is the federal government's human resources agency. It sets rules and policies for hiring, pay, benefits, and retirement for civilian federal employees, and it runs some programs, such as background investigations, directly.
People usually ask how a person gets a federal job, how federal pay and benefits work, and how retirement is handled. They also ask how the agency differs from the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel, and how it decides who is allowed to work for the government.
An independent team explaining how government works
Referenced by Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill and USA Today.
The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »
All Articles on Office of Personnel Management
Federal Hiring: How It Works and Where It Faces Challenges
The United States federal government employs over two million civilian workers, making it the nation's largest employer. For veterans, recent graduates, and mid-career professionals…
OPM’s Recent Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement
Explore OPM's key problem areas – including bureaucratic hurdles, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, budget constraints, workforce issues, and policy obstacles.
What the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Does
OPM serves as the federal government's chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager.