Federal Employees Face Job Insecurity Across the Nation

by Tina Tyler, Clallam Democrats Rising

Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA production

The rolling train wreck that is the current administration continues to play havoc with the federal workforce, nationally, and here in Clallam County. In February and March, thousands of workers were sent an email called ‘the Fork in the Road’ where they were asked to make an almost immediate decision to resign or be fired. Some 3% of workers left their jobs and then many were fired (citing false performance issues), only to be re-hired when the administration realized that some workers were critical to certain operations. The buyouts and firings trimmed about 100,000 workers. 

Also, probationary workers across agencies were fired and some were brought back only to be put on administrative leave. (The administration’s efforts to fire tens of thousands of probationary federal workers have been stymied in court, at least temporarily.) This seesaw continued through April as the administration claimed it would save money by decreasing the workforce. But, according to the New York Times, an expert on the federal workforce estimates that the speed and chaos of the cuts to the bureaucracy will cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year.

The tragedy is that it didn’t have to be this way. Federal law and previous government shutdowns have a legal playbook for reducing the federal workforce. One such playbook is a reduction-in-force (RIF) plan. The RIF process provides procedures for laying off federal employees due to organizational changes, as opposed to individual performance or conduct issues. Generally, these stem from a reduction in a budget passed by Congress which forces agencies to look for ways to live within their assigned budget. Sometimes, this means reducing the workforce. 

An agency will draw up a revised organization based on the priority of agency needs. The agency will first attempt to reduce the workforce through buyouts and early retirement incentives. This helps keep their newer employees on board for future experience and staffing. In essence, those new employees are the agency’s future leaders. If that does not draw down the workforce sufficiently, then a RIF becomes the last recourse to reduce the workforce. 

To properly conduct a RIF, an agency determines the organizational units and geographical areas affected (the competitive area), and the positions subject to the RIF, (the competitive level).

The agency then develops a list of potentially affected employees based on type of employment, veteran preference, length of service, and work performance that determines the order in which they are released.

Employees who are released have certain rights to be reassigned to other positions in the agency, depending on whether there is a union contract or the employee’s past experience in the agency. Reassigning employees may displace employees in lower-tenure groups, even if their position was not subject to the initial RIF. This is called “bumping” and feels like a pinball ricocheting through the machine – watching it bing! bing! bing! around. For employees who are ‘bumped’ to another job, another place, or totally out of the agency it means moves, upheaving families and spouses who may have jobs, and stress. For the government it is anything but a cost savings, as the government pays for moves or experiences a loss of expertise. It is chaotic and it takes money and time away from carrying out the agency’s mission.
 
If all the employees are based in one building or within commuting distance, a RIF can be traumatic but easily managed. But it becomes extremely complicated if employees are spread out over long distances in the competitive unit such as the Forest Service, the Park Service, a District, etc. This is the case in Clallam County, where an employee facing a RIF may have to consider relocating to another office elsewhere. With 12-plus government agencies represented in Clallam County, the impact will be felt.
 
The slash-and-burn approach has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and led to many court filings. As we have seen locally at Olympic National Park, employees were let go, rehired, put on administrative leave, or left hanging as the courts and the administration fight it out. To bring it down locally, two different neighbors of mine are facing day-by-day whether they will lose their jobs. For some who have specialty jobs, finding another job locally is almost impossible.
 
In a recent court order, Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said, “The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch.” Instead of following these normal processes defined by OPM (Office of Personnel Management) to conduct downsizing, the administration, through DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), chose the same lightning-speed, blunt-force methods that Elon Musk used to drastically cut Twitter’s workforce. Yet the seesaw, pinball chaos of workforce reductions will continue as unions, employees, and even the public fight the illegality of the administration’s methods. 

Update, May 26, 2025: Federal employees get a reprieve but their future remains in limbo
In two key court actions within the space of a day, a federal district judge has extended a general ban on further reductions in force and reorganizations by federal agencies, while the U.S. Supreme Court has again sided with the White House over the firing of a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) board member. If fired or let go, employees can appeal to the MSPB; however, the current board lacks a quorum to hear appeals.

A new order from Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has indefinitely extended an earlier two-week pause against carrying out an executive order and other Trump administration policies to cut federal employment in general and to abolish or virtually abolish various individual agencies.

TAKE ACTION: If you are facing a RIF or some other process that will cause you to lose your government position, contact your Senators and Members of Congress and let them know what is happening to you and how it impacts your life. If a friend or family is facing a RIF, give them all the support you can – they may be under great stress and trauma. Encourage them to contact Congress, get union support, or get career or personal counseling. 

For more detail about how reductions in force work, read this article by Sam Berger and Jacob Leibenluft, “Trump Administration’s Mass Layoffs of Federal Workers Are Illegal” (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 2, 2025.)

Sources:   

“What Elon Musk Didn’t Budget For: Firing Workers Costs Money, Too” by Elizabeth Williamson (New York Times, April 24, 2025)

“Judge blocks Trump administration federal employees layoffs,” by Hassan Ali Kanu (Politico, May 9, 2025; updated May 10, 2025)
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Ban on RIFs and Reorgs Extended; Supreme Court Again Sides with White House on MSPB Firing (by FEDweek Staff, FEDweek.com, May 26, 2025, 7:33 a.m.)