FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 09, 2026
February 09, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
Administration’s Attempt to End Third-Party Review of Federal Worker RIFs is Illegal, Largest Union Says
Proposed rule change ‘part of a deliberate attempt to dismantle the nonpartisan civil service,’ AFGE leader says
WASHINGTON – American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley today issued the following statement in response to a proposed rule to be published tomorrow that would transfer responsibility for reviewing federal employee appeals of proposed reductions-in-force from the Merit Systems Protection Board to the Office of Personnel Management:
“For the past year, the Trump administration has been exerting its control over the Office of Personnel Management to illegally deny federal employees their right to appeal proposed terminations to the independent Merit Systems Protection Board. First they went after employees on probation, then it was those deemed unsuitable for their jobs, and now they want to deny third-party review of any proposed reductions-in-force.
“Eliminating independent review of federal RIF actions would not only make it harder for employees to challenge their proposed terminations, but would essentially give the administration free rein to terminate huge swaths of the federal workforce without meaningful independent oversight.
“This is all part of a deliberate attempt to dismantle the nonpartisan civil service. On their own, and taken together, these actions unlawfully concentrate removal authority in OPM and directly undermine the statutory framework Congress established to ensure an independent, professional, and nonpartisan civil service.
“AFGE will be filing public comments on the proposed rule and will be reviewing our legal options if a final rule is issued.”
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