In early September, the Office of Personnel Management released its final regulations covering RIFs. While RIF regulations have been in place for decades, the current Administration has made some significant changes. Here’s what you need to know:
- Employee coverage. Initial probationary and trial-period employees, specified temporary or short-term time-limited employees, and Schedule C and Schedule G employees (a distinct non-career classification for political appointees—this is not Schedule Policy/Career) are excluded from RIF competition.
- Competitive areas. Agencies may define competitive areas using official organizational units or geographic locations. Establishing or materially modifying an area within 90 days before notice issuance requires OPM approval prior to a RIF.
- Transfers of function. The transfer-of-function procedures apply to transfers between agencies, not internal moves of work within one agency.
- Retention standing. Competitive service and excepted service employees are on separate registers. Employees are ranked by performance credit augmented by veterans’ preference points, followed by tenure subgroup and actual service computation date as tie-breakers.
- Performance credit. Ratings are converted directly to points: Level 5 = 7,Level 4 = 5, Level 3 = 3, and Levels 1-2 = 0.
- Assignment rights. The revised rule replaces bump and retreat with a single right to assignment where a released employee may be assigned to a qualifying position held by an employee with a lower retention standing. Generally, this assignment requires a job-analysis-based qualification assessment but there are exceptions.
- Competitive-area abolishment and exceptions. The rule provides a streamlined process when every position in a competitive area will be abolished within 180 days and updates USERRA protections among other exceptions.
So exactly when does a RIF occur? RIF procedures are used when an agency releases a competing employee from a competitive level by a furlough of 30+ days, separation, demotion, or a reassignment that requires displacement, and the release is required because of lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, reorganization, or the exercise of reemployment or restoration rights. During a RIF, employees can be reassigned to an equivalent position; assigned to demoted (with saved pay / grade), or furloughed for more than 30 days or separated from federal employment not for cause.
RIFs are still complicated and individual situations may vary so definitive information about your situation should be coming from your agency HR people.
The new rules are effective for all RIF notices dated September 2, 2026, or later.
Are you facing a RIF or thinking about leaving your federal job? Check out Solutions for Starting Your Federal Career Transition or our other resources to help you navigate your next career move!
