4.27 HHS Feds: They Said Your Job Is Gone... But Is It?

Added: 2026-04-28

[00:00:00]All right, guys. Because this kind of stuff right here is exactly the kind of thing that makes people feel like they're losing their minds.

[00:00:08]Let me talk to you for a second if you were part of those HHS or Health and Human Services layoffs last year.

[00:00:15]You were told that your position was gone, eliminated, no longer needed. That was the justification, right? Now, fast forward, that same agency is talking about bringing in 12,000 people because they need staff to do the work.

[00:00:31]Make that make sense.

[00:00:34]Not saying it for dramatic effect, I'm saying it because it is a genuine legal question. A reduction in force isn't supposed to work that way. When an agency does a RIF, the whole premise is that the job itself is going away, not that they're swapping out the person and keeping the work.

[00:00:53]The law is very clear about that distinction. So, when leadership goes in front of Congress and says, "We need to hire thousands of people to make sure that the work gets done." While also saying that the cuts didn't impact services, that tension matters. It matters a lot.

[00:01:13]And then you add in the commentary about employees who were let go saying that they failed or that the agency needed to find better people. That's not just noise. That is the kind of language that tends to show up later in litigation because it points to a motive, not budgeting, not restructuring, something else. Now, does that automatically mean that the RIF was unlawful? No.

[00:01:39]It doesn't work that cleanly.

[00:01:41]The MSPB is going to look closely at specifics, competitive areas, job duties, whether the new hires are actually filling the same roles or something meaningfully different. Those details are where a lot of cases are won or lost.

[00:01:57]But here's the part that you shouldn't ignore.

[00:02:00]If the agency is hiring into the same functional spaces where people were just laid off, that is something that you and your attorney are going to want to talk about.

[00:02:12]Also, separate but just as important is reemployment priority.

[00:02:17]If you were separated by a RIF, there are rules under federal regulations that say you may have priority consideration for open roles before outside candidates come in.

[00:02:30]That is not just optional for the agency. That is a requirement.

[00:02:34]So, if jobs are being posted and filled and you're being passed over without that priority being honored, that is a whole separate issue. At minimum, it's worth questions about. At maximum, it could turn into a real problem for the agency. If you were impacted, this isn't the moment to just sit back and assume that everything was done the right way.

[00:02:55]Talk to someone who can actually look at the situation and the timing. Look at the postings. Look at the structure of your role.

[00:03:03]Because the story that was told to you last year and the story that's being told to you now don't line up cleanly.

[00:03:08]And when those stories start to drift apart, that's where the truth is usually hiding.

[00:03:14]If you were impacted, reach out to someone. Have a conversation. It can't hurt.

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