Q. Our organization is downsizing and planning a reduction in force of 10 out of 30 people. In our notification briefing, the agency said the RIF competitive area would include only those 10 employees and no one else. I am a veteran with more than 30 years of creditable service and will not be given the opportunity to bump anyone. The competitive area is so small that even my own subordinates in the same career field are not included in the RIF. Can the agency arbitrarily set up a small competitive area in a RIF to eliminate bumping?
A. There is no way that I could tell whether your competitive area is properly drawn. What I can do is send you to OPM’s website at www.opm.gov/reduction_in_force, which has links to both RIF guidance and the law underlying it.
