The FedScoop article about the United States Department of Education (USDOE) calling back Office for Civil Rights (OCR) employees highlights how quickly things can shift for federal workers caught in the middle of ongoing RIF litigation. After months on administrative leave, these employees are now expected to return to the office in mid-December while the courts continue to sort out whether the RIFs were valid. The USDOE’s message is clear: if employees are still on the payroll, their work is needed to help manage a large backlog of civil rights complaints.  This situation also shows how complicated workforce decisions become when legal questions and funding rules overlap. As FedScoop notes, recent court actions and the government’s funding bill have created new limits on when agencies can move forward with RIFs. Bringing OCR employees back may not be the final answer, but it’s a reminder that agencies must stay flexible and keep their missions moving, even when the rules are still being debated.

For the full article, please see:  

The Education Department informed numerous Office of Civil Rights employees Friday that they are expected to return to work later this month while they await a court ruling on reduction-in-force orders that sidelined them nearly eight months ago.

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