Federal employees face lingering uncertainty as some shutdown RIFs are reversed

When the government reopened last week, offices filled again with returning employees, but many others are still waiting to learn if they have jobs to go back to. For those caught in reductions in force, or RIFs, during the shutdown, it was another disruption that has shaken federal workers’ confidence in the stability and fairness of political leadership.

The continuing resolution that restored funding through Jan. 30, 2026, quietly did more than reopen offices. It halted many reductions in force, the formal process agencies use to lay off employees, and invalidated any that took place between Oct. 1 and Nov. 12, 2025. Agencies must now notify affected employees and reinstate them with back pay.

That relief is welcome, but implementation has been uneven. During the shutdown, some agencies moved forward with RIFs in offices viewed as less aligned with the administration’s priorities, including those within the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development. Those actions are now supposed to be reversed, but until that happens, many affected employees remain in limbo.

The continuing resolution’s language is broad enough to cover any similar reduction of positions across the federal government, which would extend protections to Foreign Service officers and other categories of employees not usually covered by civil service statutes. How agencies interpret and apply those provisions will determine who gets their jobs back and who is left behind.

RIFs that became effective before Oct. 1 remain in place, and unless Congress acts again, agencies will regain full authority to carry out new ones after Jan. 30. The pause on layoffs is only temporary. Employees who were targeted this fall could face the same uncertainty again within weeks.

Meanwhile, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or MSPB, already overburdened, is bracing for a wave of new appeals. Litigation of these cases stopped entirely during the shutdown, halting discovery, motions and hearings alike. Now, hundreds of employees are waiting to see whether the administration will honor the rescission of their RIFs. Each passing day extends the disruption for families who depend on these jobs and for agencies that need stability to function.

Shutdowns expose the fragility of the federal employment system. Payrolls stall, HR guidance fragments and critical legal timelines freeze. When large-scale personnel actions happen in that environment, confusion and errors are inevitable. But this cycle of chaos is not. It reflects a deeper failure to plan for how the government treats its workforce during funding gaps.

Congress and the administration should reaffirm and enforce the safeguards that already prohibit political targeting through RIFs. The Civil Service Reform Act and related statutes and regulations are clear; what is missing is consistent compliance and accountability when those protections are ignored. The merit-based civil service depends on consistency and fairness, not improvisation every time a budget deal falters. Federal employees should not become bargaining chips in political standoffs. Protecting the merit system is not partisan; it is essential to keeping the government functional.

As an attorney who represents federal employees in RIF and MSPB cases, I have seen how quickly bureaucratic confusion turns into permanent job loss. The continuing resolution was meant to prevent that, if only for a short time. Now agencies must follow through and rebuild trust with the professionals who keep the government running, regardless of who occupies the White House.

The shutdown may be over, but for many civil servants, the uncertainty is not. Rebuilding confidence in the federal workforce starts with honoring the laws that protect it.

Keir Bickerstaffe is an attorney at Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, P.C., a Washington, D.C.-based law firm representing federal employees nationwide in employment, whistleblower and security clearance matters.