ab ovo

OPM makes electronic filing mandatory for pay claims

31 July 2026 · written 14 September 2026

The Office of Personnel Management published two direct final rules on 31 July 2026 changing how federal employees bring pay claims against the government.12 One amends 5 CFR part 178 subpart A, which covers claims for compensation and leave under 31 U.S.C. 3702(a)(2), money due a deceased federal employee under 5 U.S.C. 5583, and accrued benefits due a deceased veteran; the other amends 5 CFR part 551 subpart G, the Fair Labor Standards Act claims OPM decides under 29 U.S.C. 204(f).12 Both take effect 29 September 2026 and both make OPM’s electronic filing system the required route.12

  1. Filing by post or email stops being an option. Under the amended § 178.102(e) a claimant “must use the electronic filing system available at https://opmefile.opm.gov/hc/en-us,” and “[a]bsent an exemption under paragraph (e)(2) of this section, OPM will not accept the filing of a claim, evidence, or other supporting documents via electronic mail or postal mail.”1 Section 551.710(a) is in the same terms for FLSA claims, with the exemption at paragraph (b)(7).2 OPM records that it “currently accepts claims submitted by mail and email,” and that claims filed before 29 September “will be processed under the requirements in effect on the date of submission or postmark.”21 This is the same system the suitability appeals rule requires for appeals (see OPM replaces the MSPB for suitability appeals too).3

  2. Registration carries consequences beyond filing. Under both rules, “[r]egistration as an eFiler constitutes consent to accept electronic service of all documents, records, notices, decisions filed by the agency, claimant, or issued by OPM,” and no party “may electronically file any document with OPM or access a claim … unless registered as an eFiler.”12 Each filer must register “using a unique email address” and keep the profile current, and OPM “may strike a document where an eFiler repeatedly fails to follow these instructions following receipt of a show cause order.”2 Access to documents is limited to registered parties and representatives in the cases in which they were filed.2

  3. Neither rule went through notice and comment first. Both are issued as direct final rules on the ground that each “is a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice” exempt under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), with OPM finding in the alternative under § 553(b)(B) that “notice and public comment are unnecessary.”124 The substantive claim is that the change is only about method: each rule “does not change who is eligible to file a claim, the substantive bases on which a claim may be brought, the applicable time limits for filing, the evidence required to establish a claim, or the standards OPM applies in adjudicating claims.”12 OPM acknowledges it “changes the required method of filing” and points to the exemption process, “under which OPM may authorize an alternative method of filing for a party or representative who cannot reasonably file electronically.”12

  4. The direct final mechanism made the rules self-executing. Each states it “is effective September 29, 2026 unless significant adverse comment is submitted by August 31, 2026,” and that if such comment is received “OPM will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register.”12 OPM said it “does not anticipate significant adverse comment.”12 Whether either rule takes effect on 29 September therefore turns on what is submitted before the window closes on 31 August. Both were approved by OPM Director Scott Kupor.12

Footnotes

  1. Office of Personnel Management, “Procedures for Settling Claims,” direct final rule, 5 CFR part 178, 91 FR 48231–48234, published 31 July 2026, FR Doc. 2026-15589, effective 29 September 2026 unless significant adverse comment was submitted by 31 August 2026. Quoted: the DATES section; the supplementary information (the scope of subpart A, including the exclusions for claims under the exclusive jurisdiction of other agencies, matters subject to negotiated grievance procedures, and FLSA claims; the eFile system and the removal of the outdated office name, mailing address and facsimile number; the new required content; and the transition provision); “Direct Final Rule Justification” (the § 553(b)(A) characterisation — given there as “exempt from the prior public notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act” — the list of what the rule does not change, the acknowledgement about filing method, the exemption process at § 178.102(e)(2), and the alternative § 553(b)(B) finding); the signing statement; and the regulatory text of § 178.102. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/31/2026-15589/procedures-for-settling-claims ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  2. Office of Personnel Management, “FLSA Claims and Compliance,” direct final rule, 5 CFR part 551, 91 FR 48236–48239, published 31 July 2026, FR Doc. 2026-15597, effective 29 September 2026 unless significant adverse comment was submitted by 31 August 2026. Quoted: the DATES section; the supplementary information (the scope of subpart G under 29 U.S.C. 204(f), covering exemption status determinations, minimum wage and overtime claims and child labour complaints, with the exclusions for other agencies’ statutory authority, negotiated grievance procedures that do not exclude FLSA matters, and claims already filed in court; the eFile requirement including agency submissions on a claimant’s behalf; the new verifiable-signature, agency-name and email requirements; and the statement that OPM currently accepts mail and email); “Direct Final Rule Justification” (the § 553(b)(A) characterisation — “exempt from the prior notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)” — and the remaining passages, parallel to the companion rule, with the exemption at § 551.710(b)(7)); the signing statement; and the regulatory text of § 551.710, including the show-cause-order provision at paragraph (b)(4). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/31/2026-15597/flsa-claims-and-compliance ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  3. Office of Personnel Management, “Suitability Action Appeals,” final rule, 91 FR 49034, published 3 August 2026, whose § 731.502(a) likewise requires use of “the electronic filing system identified on OPM’s website.” See OPM replaces the MSPB for suitability appeals too. ↩

  4. 5 U.S.C. § 553. Subsection (b)(A) exempts rules of agency organisation, procedure or practice from notice-and-comment requirements; subsection (b)(B) permits an agency to dispense with them on a good-cause finding that they are impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest. https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/5/553?link-type=html ↩

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