Expanded review of positions classification could lead to job downgrades for approximately 24,000 VA employees
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is currently conducting a consistency review across its workforce, with potential position downgrades as part of a broader effort to reduce staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of fiscal year 2025.
The consistency review aims to ensure that positions are classified according to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) standards and graded consistently across the VA. Thomas Dargon, supervisory attorney for AFGE’s National VA Council, has stated that the number of affected positions and employees in VA's internal documents exceeds the estimates provided during the previous administration.
The reviews are being carried out in five waves and are prioritizing occupations eligible for special salary rates. The VA has emphasized that all mission-critical positions are protected from exclusionary programs such as the Deferred Retirement Program (DRP), Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), and the federal hiring freeze.
The timeline for these staffing adjustments extends until September 30, 2025, during which the VA expects approximately 12,000 additional employees to leave due to attrition, early retirements, deferred resignations, and a federal hiring freeze. The reviews and potential position downgrades are part of this overall effort to align staffing levels without impacting Veteran care or mission-critical roles.
Employees who are downgraded as a result of the consistency review are entitled to mandatory grade retention for two years, followed by mandatory pay retention, under OPM rules. Eligibility for grade retention is based on a reclassification of the position, only if, immediately before the reduction in grade, that position was classified as the existing grade or a higher grade for a continuous period of at least a year.
The VA classifiers carrying out this work will determine what qualifications employees need to perform their jobs and whether the VA is following OPM's classification and job grading standards. However, they cannot compare these positions to other positions, consider any qualifications the employee has that are not required to perform their jobs, or "account for how well an employee performs the work or the amount of work the employee performs."
It's important to note that the Trump administration no longer recognizes AFGE's ability to collectively bargain for VA employees. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said impacted employees received mailed notices about the consistency review last year.
Contrary to earlier reports, the VA is no longer planning on a "department-wide" reduction in force to cut more than 80,000 positions. The reviews and staff reductions are primarily achieved through normal attrition, early retirements, deferred resignations, and a federal hiring freeze, thus avoiding a large-scale reduction-in-force (RIF).
[1] Source: Department of Veterans Affairs and AFGE
- The VA is aiming to reimagine the federal workforce by conducting a consistency review, which could lead to position downgrades and a reduction of 30,000 employees. This is part of a broader effort to align staffing levels without impacting Veteran care or mission-critical roles.
- The finance aspect of this workforce reimagining involves mandatory pay retention for employees who are downgraded as a result of the consistency review, under OPM rules, if they meet certain criteria. This measures is aimed at maintaining employee compensation levels to some extent despite the reclassification and potential downgrades of positions.
