RIFs

The biggest story in the federal workforce cuts isn't how many left, it's who wasn't replaced

COMMENTARY | The data suggest the workforce reduction reshaped not just the size of government, but the expertise available to carry out its work, one expert argues.

Education Department layoffs hindered congressionally mandated activities, inspector general reports

The inspector general office at the Education Department has experienced several leadership shake-ups, including one acting leader who seems to have been replaced over the report.

HHS to start Schedule P/C conversions while withholding details on new RIFs

Hundreds of GS-15s are being converted to the controversial job classification that strips civil service protections.

McMahon distances herself from past Education layoffs, vows some rebuilding even amid elimination effort

The secretary says it is "difficult" to defend some of the cuts, adding they were underway before her arrival. She continues to support the department's elimination, however.

Severe staffing cuts at GSA are harming agencies across government, watchdog says

Due to the reductions, agencies reported that they were unsure about who to contact at GSA and had to delay project timelines.

Trump’s federal workforce changes cost the economy more than $165.6B, analysis finds

The Partnership for Public Service report includes the costs of the deferred resignation program, severance pay for laid-off civil servants and federal employees who were on paid administrative leave while their firings were challenged in court.

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Ex-VOA employees challenge last year’s buyout and retirement offers

Four former U.S. Agency for Global Media employees seek class certification from the Merit Systems Protection Board, arguing that the March invalidation of Kari Lake’s actions atop the agency should also apply to agreements reached under the Deferred Resignation Program and other buyout authorities.

Consumer watchdog agency asks court for permission to slash its workforce by two-thirds

The argument that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can carry out its duties with one-third the staff is "laughable," a union official said.

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The Trump administration paid these employees not to work for more than a year. It just called them back

Some employees sidelined for their diversity and inclusion jobs received a one year, stress-ridden sabbatical, but are now returning to similar jobs.

Performance prioritized over seniority in proposed RIF rule, OSC says

COMMENTARY | The Office of Special Counsel says proposed reduction-in-force changes would give more weight to employee performance and offers its own perspective on how agencies might apply the new rules.

Education Department staff cuts have hurt service rather than streamlined bureaucracy, say opponents on 1-year mark of RIFs

Lawmakers and education advocates at Wednesday’s press conference also emphasized that the department has hired back some employees, and Congress rejected many proposed funding reductions at Education.

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OPM proposes new layoff rules emphasizing performance and reducing employee protections

Since a draft of the new policy began circulating last fall, federal regulators expanded those excluded from agency reduction in force rules to include all career federal workers in the government’s excepted service.

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‘They are America’: Photographer spotlights civil servants who have lost their jobs under Trump 

Retired lawyer Allan Dinkoff has documented 65 ex-feds for his photography project “Targeted: Portraits of Civil Servants Under Trump.”

Judiciary requests control over courthouse property management partially due to job cuts at GSA

The General Services Administration, which manages government property, said in a statement that the “American taxpayer is best served by the judiciary focusing on the rule of law while GSA continues to focus on the federal real estate portfolio.”