OPM’s Final RIF Rules Are Here: 7 Steps Federal Employees Can Take Before, or When a Notice Arrives – FEDweek

OPM’s Final RIF Rules Are Here: 7 Steps Federal Employees Can Take Before, or When a Notice Arrives  FEDweek

Federal employees who have been watching the government’s renewed focus on reductions in force (RIFs) should pay close attention to one development in Federal employees who have been watching the government’s renewed focus on reductions in force (RIFs) should pay close attention to one development in particular: newly finalized changes that make performance ratings far more important in determining who stays and who goes. These regulations are now final law and apply to any agency issuing a specific RIF notice on or after September 2, 2026. As a result, many employees will find that their last several performance appraisals carry greater weight in whether they keep their jobs. That means the time to review your record is now, not after an RIF notice arrives.

This article is not legal advice for any individual employee. But it outlines practical steps federal employees can take now to protect their retention standing, preserve appeal rights, and avoid being caught flat-footed under OPM’s finalized RIF framework. Under the prior RIF rules, agencies added artificial years of service to an employee’s Service Computation Date (SCD) based on performance ratings. Under the finalized rules, performance ratings are converted directly into a numerical score that determines retention ranking. Competitive service and excepted service employees are now placed on separate retention registers. Within each tenure group, employees are