Federal Agencies Take Employee Surveys In-House, Share Anonymous Results
Published Date: 11/9/2026
Notice
Summary
The Office of Personnel Management is updating its employee survey system, switching from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to the new Annual Employee Survey. Now, each agency will run the survey for its own staff and only share anonymous data with OPM and OMB. These changes take effect December 10, 2026, and affect all federal employees, with no extra costs involved.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Agencies Run Surveys; OPM Gets De-identified Data
Starting December 10, 2026, each executive agency will administer the Annual Employee Survey (AES) to its own staff and will provide OPM and OMB only de‑identified or agency‑level combined respondent data for the 10 required AES items. OPM will apply protections, and agencies may keep the identifiers they use to run their surveys but must submit only the specified de‑identified/aggregated data and survey methodology to OPM and OMB.
OPM Keeps Identifiable OPM and Legacy Records
OPM will separately administer the AES to OPM employees and may maintain limited identifying information for that administration. OPM will also continue to retain legacy Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) records that may include full name, email address, and Social Security number or other unique employee identifiers.
Voluntary Participation and Access/Amendment Rules
Participation in the AES is voluntary and OPM (and agencies) will provide a Privacy Act Statement with the invitation explaining authority and routine uses. Individuals may request access or request amendments to their records using OPM's Privacy Act procedures (including identity verification) but OPM may be unable to locate a response for amendment or access if direct identifiers or retained linkage keys do not permit retrieval.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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