VA RIF Rights Clarified

Health care professionals working at the Veterans Affairs department’s Veterans Health Administration are covered by the reduction in force protections applying to federal employees generally even though those employees are under certain specialized personnel policies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled. The court’s decision (No. 00-3418) found that the special authorities applying to those employees do not override the general RIF policy framework, which includes the right to appeal certain RIF decisions to the Merit Systems Protection Board.