THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL-MAY 2025 59 and nonextended peers. Second, the composite score calculation tends to reward performance and potential rather than time in service, which only factors in when composite scores are tied. Finally, language proficiency and especially veterans’ preference are distinguishing factors. Officers who could qualify for either should take the time now to test on language skills and ensure any veterans’ preference is appropriately noted in their records. What Happens If I Am Selected for Reduction? After the registers are prepared and published, there is no statutory or regulatory provision for qualitative review of officers’ records, as there is during a promotion board. Instead, the Director General will determine how many positions from each register need to be cut and then select those positions in the inverse order of the register. The cuts need not be uniform across classes and occupational codes. Once the Secretary directs a RIF, the Director General typically provides a general notice of the RIF, including information on the number and the competition groups from which employees will be released, and a deadline for inclusion of additional information in affected employee profiles. Then, once the Director General has executed the RIF, each employee to be separated should receive a specific notice at least 120 days—or as little as 30 days, if the RIF is caused by “circumstances not reasonably foreseeable”—prior to the effective date of separation. Affected members can then file grievances under Chapter 11 of the Foreign Service Act or file appeals with the Merit Systems Protection Board. Such grievances are limited to cases of reprisal, interference in the conduct of an employee’s official duties, or other prohibited personnel practices; and filing a grievance will not delay the effective date of separation. Additionally, it is worth noting that federal employees who are involuntarily separated under a RIF maintain certain reemployment rights, including hiring preference for federal jobs. The full scope of these rights is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice to say that a RIF need not be forever, as the needs of the government may change. For more on potential RIFs, please see the AFSA update on page 72 as well as AFSA’s resource page on RIFs at https://afsa.org/reductions-in-force. n
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