KCNF’s George Chuzi was quoted in a recent Bloomberg Law article examining a proposed rule that would change how federal agencies determine which employees are subject to layoffs during reductions in force (RIFs).
The proposal, issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), would shift the focus of layoff decisions away from employees’ length of service and toward performance-based factors. The rule is part of a broader series of regulatory changes affecting federal employees, including efforts to alter performance reviews, reclassify certain positions, and limit appeal rights.
In the article, Chuzi discussed the historical importance of civil service protections designed to shield federal employees from politically motivated employment decisions.
“Concerns about loyalty tests imposed on federal workers aren’t new to the Trump administration,” Chuzi told Bloomberg Law. He recalled representing a laid-off federal employee in the 1980s whose agency leadership displayed a list of employees labeled “Democrat worms” before eliminating their jobs. The agency ultimately settled the employee’s case.
Chuzi also noted that the administration’s current regulatory efforts raise concerns about the erosion of longstanding safeguards.
“They all have the same guiding principle, which is to make it easier to get rid of employees,” he said, and then to “replace the workforce with employees who are more aligned with the politics of the administration.”
The proposed rule is part of a wider set of workforce changes affecting federal agencies and could have significant implications for how layoffs are implemented across the civil service.
Read the full article here: Trump Floats Scrapping Seniority Shield for Federal Layoffs.