Reduction in Force

On March 5, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed this new rule that would significantly shift the process for conducting Reductions in Force (RIFs). A number of federal statutes govern how RIFs are conducted but give authority to OPM to create regulations consistent with law to govern the process. See, e.g., 5 U.S. Code § 3502. This proposed regulation changes most significantly the order of retention, or how employees are ranked for retention during a RIF. Specifically, the proposed regulation would weight employee performance reviews most heavily, as opposed to the longstanding system which has heavily weighed tenure. The proposed rule comes at the same time as significant changes to employee performance reviews, including permitting forced distributions of employees which limit the number of employees who can receive the highest ratings. The proposed rule makes clear that it does not apply to probationary employees, Schedule C employees, and Schedule G (though these employees may be removed via different mechanisms) and makes some changes to how SES employees may be furloughed. The proposed rule would also make changes to how RIF'd employees are eligible to be reemployed in the future.