HHS finalizes ‘portion’ of employee layoffs following Supreme Court ruling
HHS is the third agency to advance its workforce cuts following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling.
Many employees who received layoff notices from the Department of Health and Human Services in April are now officially separated from the agency, according to an email that went out Monday afternoon.
In an email obtained by Federal News Network, HHS told employees that the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 8 allows the department to proceed with “a portion” of its reduction-in-force plans.
“Accordingly, you are hereby notified that you are officially separated from HHS at the close of business on July 14, 2025,” the email states. “Thank you for your service to the American people.”
HHS sent RIF notices to 10,000 employees on April 1. Another 10,000 employees left by accepting voluntary separation incentives. Altogether, the department will shed about 25% of its employees.
An HHS spokesperson told Federal News Network that all employees who received RIF notices on April 1 have been officially separated from the agency, except a narrow group of employees covered by a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Rhode Island, and those who have been reinstated in recent months.
That injuction, issued by District Court Judge Melissa DuBose on July 1, covers employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Office of Head Start.
Since April, HHS has reinstated employees across the department, including employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, human resources staff, and acquisition experts within the Office of the Chief Information Officer.
HHS faces other legal challenges over its workforce cuts. A class-action lawsuit in the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia claims the department relied on “hopelessly error-ridden” data when it carried out the mass terminations on April 1.
HHS is the third agency to advance its workforce cuts following the Supreme Court’s ruling. The State Department laid off over 1,350 employees on Friday. The Education Department will proceed with its plans to lay off 1,400 employees after the Supreme Court issued another ruling on Monday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email and jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com. He can also be reached on Signal at jheckman.29
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