At-will employment is the default employment arrangement in the U.S. private sector, where an employer can fire a worker for any reason that isn't illegal — like discrimination or retaliation for protected activity. Federal government employees traditionally have not been at-will; they have civil service protections requiring agencies to demonstrate just cause before firing or demoting. Schedule Policy/Career converts up to 50,000 federal workers in policy-influencing roles into at-will employees, removing those protections.