Federal Managers Association

In the News

• OPM proposes new layoff rules emphasizing performance and reducing employee protections - March 5, 2026

• Since a draft of the new policy began circulating last fall, federal regulators expanded those excluded from agency reduction in force rules to include all career federal workers in the government’s excepted service.

  Erich Wagner, Government Executive

  The Trump administration has unveiled its plan to streamline the rules governing layoffs at federal agencies, though employee groups warn the overhaul will contribute to more arbitrary mass firings.

  A proposed rule, set for publication Thursday in the Federal Register, describes the current reduction in force procedures, in which tenure is the most important factor, as “outdated” and “cumbersome,” and creates a new methodology placing the most emphasis on an employee’s three most recent performance appraisals. The Office of Personnel Management cites agencies’ struggles to implement mass layoffs in 2025 as evidence that change is needed.

  To read the full article, click here.

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