Federal Supervisor Education Act of 2025
This bill, the Federal Supervisor Education Act of 2025, would make mandatory training for federal government supervisors and establish a framework to assess and develop management competencies across agencies. It requires agencies, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to create a comprehensive management succession program and individual development plans for supervisors. Training would cover performance planning, progress discussions, mentoring, creating a fair and respectful work environment, dealing with underperformance, probationary periods, addressing harassment or retaliation, supervisor competencies, and understanding prohibited personnel practices. The bill also directs OPM to issue regulations to implement the program and to monitor compliance and effectiveness. In addition, the legislation adds a formal requirement for agencies to assess supervisor performance and overall leadership capacity based on OPM guidance and agency-specific competencies, and it adjusts the federal code to reflect these new management-competency provisions. The changes would take effect one year after enactment and apply to new supervisors appointed after that date as well as current supervisors.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory supervisor training programs: defines who is a supervisor, requires a comprehensive development program, individual development plans, and explicit training topics (goal setting, performance discussions, mentoring, fair/work environment, handling unacceptable performance, probationary periods, harassment, competencies, and recruitment/reward processes).
- 2Training design and timing: training should use adult-learning principles and industry-standard instructional design; initial training due within one year of appointment, with extensions available; ongoing refreshers at least every 3 years; credit for similar prior training; agencies must measure training effectiveness.
- 3Development opportunities and regulations: agencies must provide supervisors with a clear list of developmental opportunities and the agency’s development policies; OPM must issue regulations to implement and monitor compliance within one year.
- 4Management-competency framework: creates a new requirement for OPM to issue guidance on competencies supervisors should meet to manage and be accountable for performance; agencies must assess supervisors' performance and overall capacity using that guidance and agency-developed competencies.
- 5Effective date and applicability: the amendments take effect one year after enactment; apply to all new supervisors appointed after that date and to current supervisors employed on that date.