Correction and clarification
A recent clarification notes that an administration email conveyed an expectation that certain U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers would be stripped of civil service job protections under a reclassification plan - it did not state that the administration had already moved to end those protections.
What the memo said
An email circulated to employees across several HHS agencies described potential impacts from a personnel reclassification known as Schedule P/C, previously referred to as Schedule F. According to the message, the initial scope of the reclassification at HHS is expected to cover employees "on the order of hundreds, not thousands," with additional tranches to follow. The memo was reviewed by Reuters.
HHS response
An HHS official confirmed the authenticity of the emailed memo and characterized its contents as reflecting "the finalization of previously announced RIFs," using the acronym for reductions in force or mass layoffs. The same official said no new RIFs were planned beyond what had been previously announced.
Scope and terminology
The reclassification referenced in the email is identified as Schedule P/C, a designation that has replaced prior references to Schedule F. The memo suggested that the change would initially apply to a limited number of employees within the department and that further implementations could occur in subsequent tranches.
Implications noted in the memo
The memo did not detail individual agency rosters or provide a list of positions affected. It also did not indicate timelines for when additional tranches would be implemented. The contents of the email, as confirmed by HHS, were described by the department as finalizing reductions in force previously announced, while asserting there were no plans for additional RIFs beyond those.
Context limitations
Details beyond the email and the HHS official's confirmation were not included in the memo reviewed. The message and the department comment together form the public account: an internal expectation that civil service protections will be removed for a number of HHS employees on the order of hundreds, tied to a reclassification labeled Schedule P/C, with the department framing the move as finalizing prior reductions in force and not initiating new ones.