Posted on 01/17/2019 8:45:03 PM PST by TigerClaws
President Donald Trump’s administration will have the option to lay off all furloughed government workers after their furlough reaches 30 days. President Trump is now on Day 26 of the shutdown, and he has not signed any bill to guarantee back pay for furloughed workers.
President Trump can save taxpayers more than $1 billion per week if he lays off the approximately 800,000 non-essential government workers who are not getting paid. That would save enough money to cover the cost of Trump’s wall in six weeks, or three pay periods.
The trade site The Balance Careers previously published an explainer on the “Reduction in Force” (RIF) procedures, documenting:
The US Office of Personnel Management is responsible for overseeing RIFs by federal agencies. These agencies may choose when they want to implement a RIF, but they must follow the rules set forth by OPM.
In deciding who stays and who goes, federal agencies must take four factors into account:
1. Tenure
2. Veteran status
3, Total federal civilian and military service
4. Performance
Agencies cannot use RIF procedures to fire bad employees. Adverse personnel actions must be taken on an individual basis. While performance is a factor in RIFs, it is only one factor. Agencies can’t simply get rid of their lowest performers.
When agencies furlough employees for more than 30 calendar days or 22 discontinuous work days, they must use RIF procedures.
An employee can be terminated or moved into an available position. The new position does not have to be at the same pay grade, but it does have to be within three grades or grade intervals of an employee’s current position. There can be a series of “bumping” that can go on as employees are placed in lower positions displacing employees in filled positions.
Agencies must give employees 60 days notice before being terminated. In extreme circumstances, OPM can allow agencies to give as little as 30 days notice.
If employees believe they have been unfairly treated, they can file an appeal with the Merit System Protection Board. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the RIF action.
I call BS on this. I’ll do an internet search but I believe the President has signed legislation guaranteeing back pay. And I believe OPM has already said RIF procedures won’t apply. I’ll try to find some links.
This is amazing news. Trump can effectively abolish the EPA by executive action?
Why the hell not? Non-performing and non-essential? Fire them!
When funding is restored to federal agencies shuttered by the partial government shutdown, employees who have been on unpaid furloughs will receive back pay, under legislation President Trump signed Wednesday.
The measure extends to furloughed employees the same guarantee of eventual back pay that already had applied to those who have remained on the job in unfunded agencies because of the safety- or security-related nature of their work.
It’s an interesting topic.
I’m interested in the dynamics of this.
800,000 gone like that!
There goes 800,000 Democrat votes. Oh wait, they’ll run on hiring them back.
In truth I’d like to see 800,000 chopped, but I’d like to see them given a chance to find work first. This was pretty sudden.
Yes!! Freezes federal spending and hiring, cut all government manpower by 20 percent in all agencies, and make it permanent. After that, cut it by 10 percent a year until all “non-essential” workers are terminated. Why do they have a job if they are not “essential”—i.e.—they are not needed?
A lot of drama here. It’s quite entertaining. Guess who has the upper hand? All that for a ‘measly’ 5 billion. I say up the ante to the full 25.
Agencies won’t need to consider targeted layoffs, otherwise known as reductions-in-force (RIFs), if the current partial government shutdown continues for another few days.
While federal statute typically instructs agencies to RIF targeted groups of employees who have been placed on furlough status for 30 days or more, the regulations don’t apply to emergency furlough situations, the Office of Management and Budget confirmed Tuesday.
Look at the bright side. They’re all smart and don’t need retraining like Hillary’s coal miners. They will have to learn the meaning of hard work.
They will get a nice parachute depending on length of service and likely back pay. How is there 800k non essential employees.
He did sign the bill, but he can RIF if he wanted to. OPM would need to initiate an action, have it reviewed, (etc), but it ‘could’ be done.
The back pay is through the furlough. I get that. When it’s over do all non-essential get called back? This can be complicated and I was in a similar position some years ago. We could draw unemployment, but if called back and made whole we had to pay it back. It will be interesting and the longer it goes the tougher it gets.
Some people were saying that Trump is doing this(forcing the dems to capitulate) to simultaneously drain the swamp, expose the rats and hopefully get funding for the wall.
If he is indeed doing this to drain the swamp, then I’m all for PDJT dragging this out for as long as possible. If not, I wish he’d get to building the wall by declaring a national emergency. Time is of the essence now for 2020
It’s not ‘mandatory ‘ when there is a shutdown, but it can still be done if an administrative action is initiated by OPM.
You are correct. With the signing of the back pay legislation it shuts down the option of a RIF. Depending on the length of time this goes on, many may self-eliminate.
After working just 12 years for a govt funded agency, I was eligible to get $44k severence pay if laid off!
I’d rather see this drawn out - it will cause many employees to leave.
I’m sure the 9th Circus would love to straighten out any nuances of legal interpretation regarding this issue.
Anyone know how what percentage of the Federal work force votes for Party D? The way I see it, for the most part, he isn’t hurting anyone that didn’t already hate him. They must be thinking, “I hate Trump. But gawd-almighty Chuck and Nancy made him pull the plug!”
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