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1h ago

OPM Makes RIF Administration 'Excepted' Work for a Potential Shutdown

The policy is widely viewed as leverage on Democrats to accept a short-term funding bill before the Sept. 30 deadline.

Agencies generally must provide 60-days notice to all impacted workers, meaning those employees will remain on the rolls provided a funding lapse lasts less than two months.
A government shutdown may provide OMB Director Russ Vought the power to deploy a backdoor impoundment.

Overview

  • OPM’s Sept. 29 shutdown update authorizes agencies to direct employees to carry out RIF procedures during a lapse in appropriations as excepted activities.
  • The guidance encourages agencies to finalize RIF plans and allows the possibility of initiating layoff actions at the start of a funding lapse.
  • Furloughed workers are granted a narrow exception to use government devices and email solely to check whether they have received layoff notices.
  • The update follows an OMB memo from Director Russ Vought instructing agencies to prepare for mass firings ahead of the funding deadline.
  • Agencies have been drafting RIF plans as the federal workforce has already contracted by about 200,000, and analysts warn the approach could carry significant governance risks.