Angela Mae
4 min read
In recent news, it was announced that the Trump Administration’s mass layoff plan — also called a “reduction in force” plan — has once again moved to the Supreme Court for final approval. If it passes, 22 government departments could be affected as thousands of federal employees would be let go from their jobs.
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If the Supreme Court allows this mass layoff, it could have a ripple effect across both federal and non-federal employees. Here’s how experts think it might impact workers in the U.S. — and potentially your paycheck.
Recent changes have already impacted employees across the board. For federal workers, there’s a significant increase of those being forced to leave the workforce without severance pay.
“While, initially, many of the federal workers cut from the workforce accepted a voluntary incentive to leave the ranks earlier than they might otherwise have left, there are thousands more who were simply severed without compensation,” said Eric Steffy, Founder and CEO at Federal Solutions Support.
Steffy added that many of those who were severed without pay were employees who were still on probation and contract workers. That said, many of those severed are still eligible for state unemployment benefits as they seek new opportunities in the private sector.
Mass layoffs in the federal government could have implications regarding job stability and workplace confidence.
“Even for non-federal workers, substantial cuts in the federal workforce can create impacts on job stability, local economic systems, and public confidence,” said Eric Kingsley, Partner at Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers. “It is possible that we can witness shrinking consumer spending, increased competition for available jobs, and a general sense of insecurity pervading the job market.”
Increased competition could also lead to more skilled workers vying for jobs with a lower starting salary. This is especially plausible as more federal workers seek private sector opportunities.
The average federal worker earns $106,382 annually. However, federal workers often get paid less than their private sector counterparts.
As per The Federal News Network, there’s a 24.72% wage gap between federal and private sector workers who have jobs where they perform similar duties. Given this, federal employees who get laid off and need to make the switch could see a pay increase.
