Reduction In
Force
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Reduction In Force (RIF)
regulations are derived from the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944 and are
presently codified in Sections 3501-3503 of Title 5, United States Code. The
law provides that OPM's RIF regulations must give effect to four factors in
releasing employees: (1) tenure of employment (e.g., type of appointment); (2)
veterans preference; (3) length of service; and (4) performance ratings. The
law does not assign any relative weight to the four factors, or require that
the factors be followed in any particular order. OPM implements the laws
through regulations published in Part 351 of Title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations, and instructions in OPM's Restructuring Information Handbook.
Use of RIF Procedures
An agency is required to use the RIF procedures when an employee is faced with
separation or downgrading for a reason such as reorganization, lack of work,
shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, or the exercise of certain
reemployment or restoration rights. A furlough of more than 30 calendar days,
or of more than 22 discontinuous work days, is also a RIF action. (A furlough
of 30 or fewer calendar days, or of 22 or fewer discontinuous work days, is an
adverse action.)
Management Responsibility
The agency has the responsibility to decide whether a RIF is necessary, when it
will take place, and what positions are abolished. However, the abolishment of
a position does not always require the use of RIF procedures. The agency may
reassign an employee without regard to RIF procedures to a vacant position at
the same grade or pay, regardless of where the position is located.
Applying RIF Regulations
Competitive Area. First, the agency defines the
competitive area (e.g., the geographical and organizational limits within which
employees compete for retention). A 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 a local commuting area. An agency must obtain
approval from OPM before changing a competitive area within 90 days of a RIF.
Competitive Level
. Next, the agency groups inter-changeable positions into competitive levels
based upon similarity of grade, series, qualifications, duties and working
conditions. Positions with different types of work schedules (e.g., full-time,
part-time, intermittent, seasonal, or on-call) are placed in different
competitive levels. Because of differences in duties and responsibilities,
positions of supervisors and management officials are placed in competitive
levels comprised only of those positions. Finally, competitive and excepted
service positions are placed in separate competitive levels.
Retention Registers
. Then, the four retention factors are applied and the competitive level
becomes a retention register listing employees in the order of their retention
standing:
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1) Tenure. Employees are ranked on a retention register in three groups
according to their types of appointment:
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Group I Career employees who are not serving on probation. (A new supervisor or
manager who is serving a probationary period that is required on initial
appointment to that type of position is not considered to be serving on
probation if the employee previously completed a probationary period.)
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Group II Career employees who are serving a probationary period, and
career-conditional employees.
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Group III Employees serving under term and similar non-status appointments. (An
employee serving under a temporary appointment in the competitive service is
not a competing employee for RIF purposes and is not listed on the retention
register.)
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2) Veterans' Preference. Each of these groups is divided into three subgroups
reflecting their entitlement to veterans preference:
Subgroup AD Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or
more.
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Subgroup A Veterans not included in subgroup AD.
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Subgroup B Nonveterans.
Not all employees who served in the armed forces are entitled to veterans'
preference for RIF purposes. A retired member of the armed forces is considered
to be a veteran for RIF purposes only if one of the following conditions is
met: (I) The armed forces retired pay is directly based upon a combat-incurred
disability or injury; (ii) The armed forces retirement is based upon less than
20 years of active service; or (iii) The employee has been working for the
Government since November 30, 1964, without a break in service of more than 30
days. (If the individual meets condition (iii) but retired at the rank of major
or higher (or equivalent), he or she must also meet the general definition of
disabled veteran in Section 2108(2) of Title 5, United States Code, in order to
be a veteran for RIF purposes.)
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3) Length of Service. Employees are ranked by service dates within each
subgroup. The service dates include creditable civilian and military service,
and additional service credit for certain performance ratings.
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4) Performance. Employees receive extra RIF service credit for performance
based upon the average of their last three annual performance ratings of record
received during the 4-year period prior to the date the agency issues RIF
notices. The 4-year period is the earlier of the date the agency issues RIF
notices, or the date the agency freezes ratings before issuing RIF notices.
An employee is given additional service credit based on the
mathematical average (rounded in the case of a fraction to the next whole
number) of the value of the employee's last three annual ratings. If an
employee received more than three annual ratings during the 4-year period, the
three most recent annual ratings are used. If an employee received fewer than
three annual ratings during the 4-year period, the actual ratings received are
averaged and rounded up to a whole number. If an employee has received no
ratings of record, they are given performance credit based on the most
frequently assigned performance rating in their agency or organization.
When all employees in the competitive area have ratings earned under the same
type of performance rating pattern, then the standard formula for assigning
performance credit is:
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20 Additional years for an "Outstanding" rating;
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16 Additional years for an "Exceeds Fully Successful" rating;
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12 Additional years for a "Fully Successful" rating.
For example, an employee with two years of Federal service has one annual
rating of "Outstanding" (20) and one of "Exceeds Fully Successful" (16). The
employee would receive additional RIF service credit based upon the two actual
ratings, or 20+16=36, divided by 2=18 years of RIF credit for performance.
There are specific rules for using other crediting formulas when employees have
performance ratings from different types of performance rating patterns.
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Release. Employees are released from the retention register in the inverse
order of their retention standing (e.g., the employee with the lowest standing
is the individual who is actually reached for a RIF action). All employees in
Group III are released before employees in Group II, and all employees in Group
II are released before employees in Group I. Then within subgroups, all
employees in Subgroup B are released before employees in Subgroup A, and all
employees in Subgroup A are released before employees in Subgroup AD. Any
employee reached for release out of this regular order must be notified of the
reasons.
Rights to Other Positions
Employees in Groups I and II with current performance ratings of "
Unsuccessful," and all employees in Group III, have no assignment rights to
other positions. Employees holding excepted service positions have no
assignment rights unless their agency, at its discretion, chooses to offer
these rights.
Employees in Groups I and II with current performance ratings of at least
"Minimally Successful" are entitled to an offer of assignment if they have
"bumping" or "retreating" rights to an available position in the same
competitive area. An "available" position must: (1) last at least 3 months; (2)
be in the competitive service; (3) be one the released employee qualifies for;
and (4) be within three grades (or grade-intervals) of the employee's present
position.
Bumping means displacing an employee in the same competitive area who is in a
lower tenure group, or in a lower subgroup within the released employee's own
tenure group. Although the released employee must be qualified for the
position, it may be a position that he or she has never held. The position must
be at the same grade, or within three grades or grade-intervals, of the
employee's present position.
Retreating means displacing an employee in the same competitive area who has
less service within the released employee's own tenure group and subgroup. The
position must be at the same grade, or within three grades or grade- intervals,
of the employee's present position. However, an employee in retention subgroup
AD has expanded retreat rights to positions up to five grades or
grade-intervals lower than the position held by the released employee. The
position into which the employee is retreating must also be the same position
(or an essentially identical position) previously held by the released employee
in any Federal agency on a permanent basis.
An employee with a current annual performance rating of "Minimally Successful"
only has retreat rights to positions held by employees with the same or lower
ratings.
Grade Intervals
The grade limits of an employee's assignment rights are determined by the grade
progression of the position from which the employee is released. The difference
between successive grades in a one-grade occupation is a grade difference, and
the difference between successive grades in a multi-grade occupation is a
grade-interval difference. The grade limits are based upon the position the
employee holds at the time of the RIF. For example, an employee released from a
GS-11 position that progresses GS-5-7-9-11 has bump and retreat rights to
positions from GS-11 through GS-5. An employee released from a GS-9 position
that progresses GS-6-7-8-9 has bump and retreat rights to positions from GS-9
through GS-6.
Use of Vacant Positions
An agency is not required to offer vacant positions in a RIF, but may choose to
fill all, some, or none of them. When an agency chooses to fill a vacancy with
an employee reached for a RIF action, it must follow subgroup retention
standing. A RIF offer of assignment to a vacant position can only be in the
same competitive area, and must be within three grades (or grade-intervals) of
the employee's present position. At its discretion, the agency may offer
employees reassignment, or voluntary change to a lower-graded position, in
other competitive areas in lieu of a RIF.
RIF Notices
An agency must give each employee at least 60 days specific written notice
before he or she is reached for a RIF action. In unforeseeable circumstances,
an agency may, with OPM approval, give an employee 30 rather than 60 days
specific written notice of a RIF action.
RIF Appeals and Grievances
Right to Appeal. Right to Appeal. An employee who has
been separated, downgraded, or furloughed for more than 30 days by a RIF has
the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) if he or she
believes the agency did not properly follow the RIF regulations. The appeal
must be filed during the 30- day period beginning the day after the effective
date of the RIF action.
Right to Grieve
. An employee in a bargaining unit covered by a negotiated grievance procedure
that does not exclude a RIF must use the negotiated grievance procedure and may
not appeal the RIF action to MSPB unless the employee alleges the action was
based upon discrimination. The time limits for filing a grievance under a
negotiated grievance procedure are set forth in the collective bargaining
agreement.
Career Transition Assistance And Special Selection Priority
Competitive service employees in Groups I and II who have received a specific
notice of separation by a RIF are eligible for placement assistance in finding
other positions
On September 12, 1995, President Clinton directed all Executive Departments and
Agencies to provide career transition assistance for their surplus displaced
Federal employees, including policies that require the selection of well-
qualified displaced employees for other positions in the Federal Government. As
a result of that memorandum, OPM, in conjunction with the Interagency Advisory
Group of Personnel Directors, and in partnership with labor unions, developed
and issued career transition regulations to implement the President's
directive.
Two types of career transition programs now exist. One is for employees before
they separate, called the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP). The other
is for interagency assistance before and after separation, called the
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). These two procedures are
currently in effect through September of 2001.
Under CTAP, if an employee receives a reduction in force notice, a certificate
of expected separation, or notice of proposed removal for declining a directed
reassignment or transfer of function outside the commuting area, and the
employee is still on the agency's rolls, the employee is considered a surplus
or displaced employee, which entitles the individual to selection priority for
vacancies within his/her agency. Selection priority extends only to positions
which are at or below the grade level from which the employee is being
separated. As a surplus or displaced employee, if the employee is found well-
qualified for a job they apply for in the local commuting area, the agency is
required to select the employee for the vacant position. CTAP eligibility ends
on the earliest of either the RIF separation date, the cancellation of the RIF
notice, or subsequent Federal employment (in another career, career conditional
or excepted appointment without a time limit, in any agency).
The ICTAP covers displaced Federal employees who are seeking employment in
other Federal agencies. Individuals are eligible for selection priority under
ICTAP if they were separated from a career or career conditional position by
reduction in force or because the employee declined a transfer or directed
reassignment to another commuting area. Eligibility for special selection
priority ends one year after separation, or when the employee receives a
career-conditional, career or excepted appointment with no time limit.
Displaced employees may exercise selection priority only in the local commuting
area from which they were separated.
Under both programs, when an employee identifies a vacancy announcement
advertised by the agency, which is in the local commuting area, the employee
must apply by the closing date of the announcement, providing proof that he/she
is a surplus or displaced employee. Proof of eligibility must be attached to
each application. For CTAP, proof is a RIF separation notice, notice of
proposed removal for declining a directed reassignment or transfer of function
outside the local commuting area, certification of expected separation; or
other official notice from the agency indicating that the employee is surplus
or eligible for discontinued service retirement. For ICTAP, proof is a RIF
separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a directed
reassignment or transfer of function outside the local commuting area, or
documentation showing separation occurred as a result of reduction in force.
The Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, would also be
acceptable proof/documentation which shows any of the above actions. In
addition, both programs require proof of the most recent performance rating at
fully successful or better. It is incumbent upon the applicant to supply this
information with his or her application.
Reemployment Priority List (RPL)
Reemployment Priority List (RPL). The RPL is a post-RIF program that provides
separated employees first opportunity for positions within their former agency
that would otherwise be filled from outside the agency. Provided that the
separated employee submits a timely RPL application and did not refuse a RIF
offer of assignment to a position at the same grade, the separated Group I
employee is placed on the RPL for 2 years; a separated Group II employee is
placed on the list for 1 year.
Excepted service employees who are eligible for veterans' preference and who
are separated by a RIF are eligible to have their names placed on a
reemployment list that gives them future consideration for excepted positions
filled by their former agency. Further information on the reemployment list for
excepted employees is found in Part 302 of Title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations.
Department of Defense (DoD), Priority Placement Program (PPP). DoD administers
an internal agency Priority Placement Program for its displaced employees. As
this is an internal DoD program, information regarding the PPP may be obtained
through an employee's local civilian personnel office, the appropriate DoD PPP
Zone Coordinator, or the DOD Civilian Assistance in Re-Employment (CARE)
Office. OPM does not have information on this program.
Transfer of Function
A Transfer of Function takes place when a function ceases in one competitive
area and moves to one or more other competitive areas which do not perform the
function at the time of transfer. The gaining competitive area may be in the
same or a different agency. An employee who is identified with the transferring
function has the right to transfer only if faced with separation or downgrading
in the competitive area that is losing the function. The losing competitive
area may use adverse action procedures to separate any employee who chooses not
to transfer with his or her function. If the transfer of function results in a
surplus of employees in the gaining competitive area, all employees who elected
to transfer with the function compete under RIF regulations for positions in
the gaining organization.
USAJOBS
USAJOBS, the Federal Government's Employment Information System, is easily
accessible Federal employment information. USAJOBS provides worldwide job
vacancy information, employment information fact sheets, job applications and
forms, and has on-line resume development and electronic transmission
capabilities. In many instances, job seekers can apply for positions on-line.
USAJOBS is updated every business day from a database of more than 16,000
worldwide job opportunities. USAJOBS is available to job seekers in a variety
of formats, ensuring access for customers with differing physical and
technological capabilities. It is convenient, user friendly, accessible through
the computer or telephone and available 24 hours-a-day, seven days- a-week.
USAJOBS consists of:
Internet
- The official world wide web site for jobs and employment information, may be
accessed at http://www.USAJOBS.opm.gov.
On the web site, job seekers can access worldwide current job vacancies,
employment information fact sheets, applications and forms, and in some
instances, apply for jobs online. Complete job announcements can be retrieved
from the web site. The USAJOBS web site also has an Online Resume Builder
feature. Using the resume builder, job seekers can create online resumes
specifically designed for applying for Federal jobs. Resumes created on the
USAJOBS resume builder can be printed from the system for faxing or mailing to
employers; and saved and edited for future use. For many of the vacancies
listed on the site, job seekers can submit resumes created through USAJOBS
directly to hiring agencies through an electronic submission process.
Automated Telephone System
- An interactive voice response telephone system which can be reached at 703-724-1850 or TDD 978-461-8404.
By telephone, job seekers can access worldwide current job vacancies,
employment information fact sheets, and applications and forms, and in some
instances, apply for jobs by phone.
Information on what additional outplacement assistance is available to you can
be obtained by contacting your servicing personnel office.
Federal Employment Info Line, EI-32, "Reduction In Force Benefits Guide,"
provides information on the benefits that are provided to employees who have
been reached for reduction in force (RIF) actions. This factsheet can be
requested using any of the USAJOBS components mediums listed above.
AS OF: 10-30-00
REDUCTION IN FORCE can be
printed as it appears on your browser.
Federal Employment Info Line, EI-32, "Reduction In Force Benefits Guide can be
printed as an exact replica of the official publication (ei-32.pdf).
Download the file by clicking on the .pdf file name and follow
print help instructions
below.
Federal Employment Info Line, EI-31 "Reduction In Force"can be printed as an
exact replica of the official publication (ei-31.pdf).
Download the file by clicking on the .pdf file name and follow
print help instructions below.
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