Reduction in Force (RIF) Retention Rules
Current understanding
OPM has finalized a rule revising federal reduction-in-force procedures to reorder retention factors so that performance takes priority over tenure and length of service when determining which employees are retained during workforce reductions. The rule also updates the Reemployment Priority List (RPL), Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), and transfer-of-function procedures. For workers, this shifts the calculus of who is protected in a RIF away from seniority; for employers (federal agencies), it expands managerial discretion tied to performance ratings. Status: final rule.
Evidence log
- 2026-08-03 — Reduction in Force: cross-connection with reduction-in-force-appeals: Substantive RIF retention-factor rule (performance over tenure) is paired with the separate OPM rule centralizing RIF appeal adjudication — together reshaping both who is retained and where they can contest it. (novelty: 3)