‘Your position is being abolished’: Education Department staff get official reduction-in-force notices

More than 1,300 federal officials affected by the reduction in the power of the Ministry of Education have received their official parting notifications on Thursday, according to copies reviewed by ABC News.

“With great regret, I have to inform you that your position is being removed and you are reached to reduce the action of force (RIF),” they are partly read.

RIF was one of the first major steps for a massive reduction of the education department after President Donald Trump signed an enforcement order, headed the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to close the agency on March 20.

Both Trump and McMahon have suggested that they will continue to reduce the size of the agency and return the educational power and decisions to the United States.

The president said RIF staff were either not showing up at work or not good at their job. But the notifications explained that the separation is not based on effectiveness assessments – this is due to the “reduction in the number of positions” in the agency. Notices also said employees have the right to appeal this reduction.

In addition, the dismissal of people, without going through the defense of the civil service, is “illegal”, according to the head of politics and legislative issues of NAACP Patrice Willobi.

“What they do is illegal,” Willobby told ABC News. “They know that this is illegal. This creates damage to people. They harm not only what they say is the deep country – really dedicated federal workers who work professionally on behalf of educational families and young people, but they also harm these families and these children, many of them, who have not voted for this administration and the compositions.

The letter sent on Thursday is a 60-day notice that warns federal employees of their last days, according to a source familiar with the question. As long as those 60 days rise, the affected employees are on paid administrative leave. On June 10, they will no longer be hired.

“Ed evaluates the service you provided,” said the notice, adding, “We are deeply sorry that this decision affects you and we acknowledge the difficulty of the moment.”

Last month, the department announced that about half of its 4,000 employees were eliminated either by reducing, voluntary separation or retirement. Dozens of more test employees were released – and then they were repeated after the court order canceled the termination of the administration.

The chief human capital employee Jacqueline Clay has sent the official email, with the topic of the separation notice due to a reduction in power, between 3am and 4pm, together with related documents, including information on employee benefits and payment.

The notifications were sent in accordance with an enforcement order entitled the implementation of the President’s President’s Working Optimization Initiative, according to copies reviewed by ABC News.

In the last month, the affected civil servants have cleaned their offices – if they have worked personally – and are no longer allowed in the buildings of the education department. They have no working responsibilities and do not have access to emails or systems and servers.

Civil servants who shared the notifications with ABC News said the letters make the reduction to feel “more real.”

“It’s sad for us, but also students who will undoubtedly be hurt by this,” said an employee who received the notice to ABC News.

Another employee of the department whose entire office was removed said they felt numb.

“We knew it was coming, but still amazing,” they said, adding, “There is no explanation why the offices were removed. My office was congress and it was legally required. No answers.”