Federal agencies may resume mass reductions in force (RIFs) directed by President Trump following a July 8 Supreme Court order and opinion reversing a lower court order. Many agencies are expected to quickly cut their staffs with this development, as several dozen agency RIF plans were on hold pending the legal challenge and injunction.

The plaintiffs who had previously won the injunction argued the administration needed congressional approval for its reorganization plans – including mass RIFs – announced by President Trump in February. The administration successfully argued President Trump is acting within his powers as the chief executive.

“Because the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful – and because the other factors bearing on whether to grant a stay are satisfied – we grant the application,” the Supreme Court’s order said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted the court’s order allows the possibility for other court challenges to individual actions taken by agencies, writing the order directed agencies to move forward “consistent with applicable law.”

“The plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law,” Justice Sotomayor wrote.

Both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education had sent RIF notices before the legal battle, and can now move forward in their efforts to cut those jobs. Other departments are also clear to move forward at this time.

Earlier this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it has shed 17,000 positions since January, via attrition, the hiring freeze, deferred resignation and retirement, and is no longer considering large-scale RIFs. The department expects another 12,000 employees to leave without a need for RIFs. The VA had previously announced it sought to cut 15 percent of its workforce, or more than 70,000 jobs.

Chris Kowalik at My Federal Retirement published several Fact Sheets that may be helpful if you are impacted by RIFs. They are designed to be resources to simplify federal benefits topics and help you understand the consequences of each program and make informed decisions.

The fact sheets focus on:

• Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)
• Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP)
• Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR), and
• Severance Pay

All fact sheets are downloadable in PDF format here.