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1 1 (February 13, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesmb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Reductions in Force (RIFs): An Overview February 13, 2025 Introduction In the federal government, layoffs are referred to as reduction inforce (RIF) actions, as authorized under current law (5 U.S.C. §§3501-3504). When an agency eliminates positions, RIF regulations (contained in Title 5, Part 351, of the Code of Federal Regulations) determine whether an employee keeps his or her present position, or whether the employee has a right to a different position. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is responsible for issuing guidance for agencies on RIF procedures. Since 2017, OPM's Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook has provided detailed guidance on the RIF process. Agencies have discretion to determine if a RIF is necessary, the number and types of positions needed to be abolished, and the timing of when a RIF occurs. A RIF action cannot be used to separate or demote any employee for an individual reason, such as employee performance or conduct. RIF regulations must be used when separating or demoting employees for an organizational reason (e.g., reorganization, lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling). Additionally, furloughs lasting longer than 30 calendar days or 22 discontinuous work days are considered RIF actions under the regulations. Unless excluded by statute, RIF regulations apply to each federal civilian employee in the executive branch and any position that is subject by statute to competitive service requirements or is determined by the appropriate legislative or judicial administrative body to be covered by the retention regulations. The Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook provides more information on employees excluded from coverage of the RIF regulations, such as members of the Senior Executive Service and employees whose appointments are confirmed by Congress. The F Process When an agency executes a RIF action, it must comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and formal agency policies and the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. This In Focus briefly outlines OPM's RIF procedures as prescribed by law and regulations. It is general in nature and may not describe every situation. Competitive Area Under the regulations, agencies are required to establish competitive areas in which employees compete for retention (5 C.F.R. §351.402). The competitive area may consist of all or part of an agency. The minimum competitive area is a subdivision of the agency under separate administration within the local commuting area. OPM directs agencies to define each competitive area solely in terms of organizational unit(s) and geographical location(s). RIF-able employees compete for retention with other employees only within their competitive areas. Competitive Level After establishing competitive areas, agencies establish competitive levels. Under the regulations, a competitive level consists of all positions in a competitive area which are in the same grade (or occupational level) and classification series, and which are similar enough in duties, qualification requirements, pay schedules, and working conditions so that an agency may reassign the incumbent of one position to any of the other positions in the level without undue interruption (5 C.F.R. §351.403(a)(1)). Position descriptions of RIF-able employees' official positions of record become the basis for competitive levels. Retention Registers After establishing competitive levels, the agency establishes a retention register for each competitive level. The retention register is the ranking of each employee subject to RIF within a competitive level after the agency applies four retention factors required by law (5 U.S.C. §3502): 1. Tenure of employment, 2. Military preference (also referred to as veterans' preference), 3. Length of service, and 4. Efficiency or performance ratings. Determining Retention Stand ng Employees subject to RIF are listed in the retention register in order of their relative retention standing based on the four retention factors. For the first factor, tenure of employment, employees are categorized into three groups (5 C.F.R. §351.501(b)) based on their types of appointment. Group I consists of career employees who are not serving on probation. Group II consists of career-conditional employees and career employees who are serving probationary periods because of new appointments. Group III consists of employees serving under term and similar non-status appointments. Within each group, the agency further subdivides employees into three subgroups by applying the military preference retention factor (5 C.F.R. §351.501(c)). Subgroup AD includes each preference eligible employee who has a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Subgroup A includes each preference-eligible employee not included in Subgroup AD. Subgroup B includes each non-preference-eligible employee. Within each of these subgroups, employees are then ranked based on their length of service (5 C.F.R. §351.503) to the

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