Overview

• On July 12 and July 14, the Supreme Court lifted lower-court blocks on reduction-in-force plans at 17 agencies and the Department of Education, allowing the administration to resume mass layoffs.
• The State Department announced it would dismiss more than 1,300 employees, and other agencies such as HHS, EPA and VA are finalizing their own cutback plans.
• A joint memo from OMB and OPM directed agencies to seek waivers shortening layoff notice from 60 days to as little as 30 days to expedite the reductions.
• The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions have filed or are preparing immediate legal challenges to each agency’s RIF plan.
• The Supreme Court rulings did not assess the underlying legality of the workforce-reduction plans, leaving lower courts to evaluate their merits.