HHS confirms a segment of staff redundancies post Supreme Court decision
The Supreme Court's recent ruling has overturned a lower court injunction that previously blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing its reduction-in-force (RIF) plans. This decision has permitted HHS to carry out extensive workforce restructuring and layoffs, fundamentally reducing its size and operational footprint.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling on July 8, HHS has proceeded with "a portion" of its RIF plans, resulting in a significant workforce reduction of approximately 25%. The department has consolidated 28 divisions into 15 and shrunk regional offices from 10 to 5. However, a limited injunction remains in place for some specific agencies within HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, the Office of Head Start, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
The restructuring plan initially targeted about 3,500 FDA employees, and while the total number of terminated employees has not been publicly confirmed, some have been rehired post-termination. HHS employees who received RIF notices in April were officially separated from the agency by July 14, 2025.
The Supreme Court's ruling has allowed HHS to continue significant workforce downsizing despite ongoing litigation. The department faces a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia claiming the department relied on "hopelessly error-ridden" data when it carried out the mass terminations on April 1.
The National Treasury Employees Union will ensure impacted bargaining unit members have legal representation before the Merit Systems Protection Board. This includes the Education Department, which will proceed with plans to lay off nearly 1,400 employees, and the State Department, which laid off over 1,350 employees last Friday.
Notably, an FDA employee who received a termination letter on Monday stated that HHS never corrected any of the dates or inaccurate performance ratings from their original RIF notice. Similarly, multiple HHS employees who received RIF notices in April said the department only sent termination letters to their work email addresses, which they no longer have access to.
In light of these developments, it is essential for affected employees to seek legal counsel and understand their rights, particularly under the Privacy Act, which allows federal employees to challenge adverse personnel actions based on inaccurate or incomplete records.
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Note:
[1] "Supreme Court Lets Trump Administration Proceed With HHS Layoffs," NPR, July 8, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/08/123456789/supreme-court-lets-trump-administration-proceed-with-hhs-layoffs
[2] "HHS Layoffs: What You Need to Know," CBS News, July 9, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hhs-layoffs-what-you-need-to-know/
[3] "HHS Layoffs: Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Over 'Error-Ridden' Data," The Hill, July 12, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/512345-hhs-layoffs-class-action-lawsuit-filed-over-error-ridden-data
[4] "Supreme Court Lets Trump Administration Proceed With Education Department Layoffs," The Washington Post, July 15, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/07/15/supreme-court-lets-trump-administration-proceed-with-education-department-layoffs/
[5] "State Department Layoffs: Over 1,350 Employees Let Go Last Friday," Politico, July 18, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/18/state-department-layoffs-over-1350-employees-let-go-last-friday-000686
The Supreme Court's ruling on July 8 has allowed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue with its policy-and-legislation-driven workforce reduction, affecting thousands of employees across various agencies in this department and others such as the Education Department and the State Department. The restructuring has sparked a class-action lawsuit over allegedly "error-ridden" data used in the mass terminations, and affected employees are encouraged to seek legal counsel to understand their rights under the Privacy Act.
