The President signed an Executive Order yesterday implementing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative. This initiative is designed to reduce the size of government where feasible.
The Order exempts personnel and functions critical to national security, public safety, law enforcement, and immigration enforcement. Certain administrative and non-critical positions could also be Impacted in these exempted groups.
The memorandum states, “The Office of Personnel Management will initiate rulemaking to ensure federal employees are held to the highest standards of conduct.”
Making the Workforce More Efficient
The executive order tasks agency heads with coordinating and consulting with DOGE to shrink the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions. The intent is to reduce the size of government significantly.
After the hiring freeze ends, the hiring plan limits agencies to hiring no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service (with appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and public safety exceptions).
Agencies must undertake plans for large-scale Reductions in Force (RIF) and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law.
Downsizing Options
The federal government has procedures and policies for reorganizations and downsizing efforts, including implementing a Reduction in Force (RIF), the least desirable of the available options. During most significant reorganizations, impacted agencies use the Voluntary Early Out Authority (VERA), often with Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP).
VERA
An agency must request VERA approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before offering its employees early retirement. Positions are targeted by occupational series or grade, skills, knowledge, or other factors related to the position, such as organizational, geographical, nonpersonal, objective factors, or any combination of these factors.
Employees who meet the general eligibility requirements may be eligible to retire early if they meet the minimum age and service requirements.
VSIP
VSIP authority permits agencies downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments of up to $25,000 as an incentive to separate voluntarily. The President’s recent Deferred Resignation offer is far more generous, approving 8 months of severance pay with benefits through September of this year.
RIF
The memorandum states, “Agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law.”
A RIF is basically a layoff action for employees that agencies can’t place in other positions or relocate to another office. Agencies must use RIF procedures when an employee faces separation or downgrading for reasons such as reorganization, lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, or the exercise of certain reemployment or restoration rights.
The law provides that the RIF regulations include four retention factors:
- Tenure of employment (i.e., type of appointment);
- Veterans’ preference;
- Total creditable Federal civilian and uniformed service; and
- Performance ratings.
An agency must use the RIF procedures when an employee faces separation or downgrading for reasons such as reorganization, lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, or the exercise of certain reemployment or restoration rights. A furlough of more than 30 calendar days or of more than 22 discontinuous work days is also a RIF action. (A furlough of 30 or fewer calendar days or of 22 or fewer discontinuous work days is an adverse action.)
Debating the Numbers
The memorandum states that only 6 percent of the workforce report in person full-time. This figure is derived from a report issued by Senator Joni Ernst’s office. This is contradicted by an OMB report from August 2024 stating that 10% of federal employees work fully remotely and 54% work fully on-site because their jobs require in-person presence.
The truth is somewhere in between. Agencies were liberally authorized to use telework and remote work during the pandemic, and many are authorized to work remotely or telework on a case-by-case basis.
Historic Initiative to Reduce Federal Government
This is the most significant initiative to reduce the size of the federal government in recent history. Continuity of services and safety are primary considerations. Agency heads will be tasked with surgically cutting staff without compromising their mission, and cuts of this magnitude create tension and anxiety among those most impacted.
I personally went through several reorganizations and, during my first, was issued a letter stating that one of the two organizations at my base would be eliminated. Fortunately, VERA and VSIP offers were made to those eligible for early retirement, and RIF actions weren’t implemented, much to the relief of all concerned.
Hopefully, early retirement options will take care of much of the downsizing and keep RIF actions to a minimum. Only time will tell. However, with the possibility of shuttering entire agencies, RIFs would be necessary to achieve these goals.
