Data / Federal rules / 2026-15665
Reduction in Force
The Personnel Management Office published this final rule in the Federal Register on August 3, 2026. It took effect on September 2, 2026.
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What the agency says
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is revising its reduction in force (RIF) regulations to make the RIF regulations more streamlined, efficient, and merit-based by prioritizing performance over tenure and length of service when determining which employees will be retained in a RIF and by modifying the types of employees who are excluded from RIF competition. OPM is also revising its regulations regarding the reemployment priority list (RPL), career transition assistance program (CTAP), the interagency career transition assistance program (ICTAP), and transfers of function.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-15665
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Personnel Management Office
- Published
- August 3, 2026
- Takes effect
- September 2, 2026
- Dates
- This rule is effective September 2, 2026. An agency that issued a RIF notice before the effective date of the rule must process the RIF under the regulations in effect when the RIF notice was issued. An agency that issues a RIF notice on or after the effective date must apply the RIF provisions as amended by this final rule.
- Docket
- Docket ID: OPM-2025-0107
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 3206-AO86
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 5 CFR 316; 5 CFR 330; 5 CFR 351; 5 CFR 353; 5 CFR 359; 5 CFR 362; 5 CFR 430
- Topics
- Administrative practice and procedure; Armed forces reserves; Colleges and universities; District of Columbia; Employment; Government employees
- Significant
- Yes, under Executive Order 12866
- Pages
- 50
Other documents from the Personnel Management Office
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Leave for Workforce Realignment and Other Purposes 2026-21320 | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Elimination of Time-in-Grade 2026-21319 | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Managing Senior Professional Performance 2026-21316 · significant | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Family and Medical Leave Act 2026-21104 | Final rule | Oct 15 |
| Employment in the Excepted Service 2026-19222 · significant | Proposed rule | Sep 18 |
| Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Optimizing FEHB Plan Offerings 2026-18944 | Proposed rule | Sep 15 |
| Promoting Employee Accountability 2026-18943 | Proposed rule | Sep 15 |
| Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions 2026-18828 · significant | Final rule | Sep 15 |
Everything from the Personnel Management Office · Rules on administrative practice and procedure · Rules on armed forces reserves · Rules on colleges and universities · Published in August 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-24. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.