The RIF rule took effect September 2. Seniority is now a tiebreaker.
OPM’s rewritten reduction-in-force regulations are live. The system that governed federal layoffs for generations — tenure group, then veterans’ preference, then a service date adjusted for performance — has been replaced by a point score. Bump and retreat are gone. Length of service now only breaks ties. Here is the short version; the long version, with a score calculator and the retirement options a notice opens, is in the full guide.
1. The new score
Level 5 = 7 · Level 4 = 5 · Level 3 = 3 · Level 2 and Level 1 = 0
30%+ disabled preference eligible = +5 · other preference eligible = +3
Maximum 21, or 26 with disabled-veteran preference. Ties: tenure subgroup, then service date.
Agencies keep separate registers for competitive and excepted service and rank employees by that total. The ratings are the three most recent ratings of record from the four-year period before notices are issued, and your standing freezes on the date your specific notice is issued.
2. The example OPM chose to publish
| Employee | Service date | Ratings | Old rule | New rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee A | 1996 | 3 / 3 / 3 | Retained | Released (9 pts) |
| Employee B | 2021 | 5 / 5 / 5 | Released | Retained (21 pts) |
Twenty-five years of service difference, reversed by six rating levels. OPM put that example in the rule deliberately: its stated view is that the previous formula gave performance “nominal credit but not meaningful priority.”
Veterans’ preference survived but changed shape. It is no longer categorical — a non-veteran with three Outstanding ratings now outranks a disabled veteran with three Fully Successful ones. OPM’s answer is that 5 points on a 21-point scale is proportionally larger than the 10 points a veteran receives on the 100-point examining scale, and that the old rules already subordinated preference to tenure group.
3. Who is not competing at all
The rule narrows the definition of a competing employee. Excluded entirely: competitive-service employees in an initial probationary period, excepted-service employees in a trial period, anyone on a temporary or time-limited appointment of one year or less, and Schedule C and Schedule G appointees. Excluded employees have no score and no assignment rights.
One clarification worth knowing: a supervisory probationary period does not create the exclusion. If you have career tenure and are only on probation as a supervisor, you compete normally. Ask HR in writing which you are serving.
4. What to do if you get a notice
Find the issue date first — before or after September 2 decides both the rules and the appeal forum, and appeals moved from the MSPB to OPM on the same date. Then request the retention register and the records behind it, and check the arithmetic: the right three ratings, the right preference category, the right service computation date.
And before deciding whether to appeal, check whether you are eligible for discontinued service retirement. At 50 with 20 years of service, or any age with 25, an involuntary separation triggers an immediate unreduced annuity with FEHB — frequently a better outcome than winning a job back that may be abolished again next year.
5. FAQ
When did the new federal RIF rules take effect?
September 2, 2026, thirty days after publication at 91 FR 49178 on August 3. The rule applies to any reduction in force for which the agency issues a specific notice on or after that date. A notice issued before September 2 is processed under the previous rules even if the separation happens later.
Does length of service still count in a RIF?
Only as the final tiebreaker. Retention standing is now a point score built from your three most recent ratings of record, with veterans’ preference added on top. When two employees have identical scores and identical tenure subgroups, service computation date breaks the tie. Under the old rules, performance was converted into extra years of service and added to the service date, which gave seniority far more weight.
What replaced bump and retreat?
A single right of assignment, available only to competitive-service employees with a current rating of Level 2 or higher. It requires an available position in the same competitive area with the same work schedule, held by someone with lower retention standing in the same tenure group, no more than three grades below (five for a preference eligible with a 30 percent or greater compensable disability), and a job-analysis-based determination that you are qualified.