Agencies should prep for mass layoffs if shutdown occurs, White House says

"Federal agencies should implement mass layoffs of their workforces if the government shuts down next week, the White House told agencies on Wednesday, dramatically escalating the stakes of a potential funding lapse. Agencies should prepare the reduction in force notices for all employees whose work is not funded through means other than annual appropriations and does not align with President Trump's priorities, the Office of Management and Budget said in its memorandum."

"Agencies will also prepare the standard furlough notices that go out to employees not otherwise exempted to work during a shutdown, OMB said, and those actions will have no bearing on who is subject to layoffs. In the memo, OMB told agencies not to repurpose or transfer funds to minimize the shutdown impact. That marks an about face from the approach the first Trump administration took during an extended shutdown that began in 2018."

OMB directed federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force notices and standard furlough notices in the event of a government shutdown, targeting employees whose work is funded only through annual appropriations or that does not align with presidential priorities. The furlough notices are separate from layoff selection decisions. Agencies were told not to repurpose or transfer funds to reduce shutdown impacts, reversing the prior administration’s 2018 approach. Agencies were reminded to submit required furlough plans that had been due on Aug. 1 and to forward any outstanding documents as soon as possible.

Read at Nextgov.com