How does an agency decide who is affected by a reduction in force? -- FederalSoup.com

How does an agency decide who is affected by a reduction in force?: In a RIF, employees are ranked for retention based on four factors:

• type of appointment (tenure);
• veterans’ preference;
• total length of civilian and creditable military service; and
• performance ratings.

Employees are released from a competitive level in the inverse order of their retention standing. In the first round of a RIF competition, the agency applies those factors to a competitive level to identify which employee has the lowest retention standing. In the second round, the agency again applies the factors, this time to determine whether a released employee has a bump or retreat right to a position in a different competitive level that is held by an employee with even lower retention standing.