USAID RIF Class Action Appeal FAQs

We will ask the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to recognize a class that includes all members of the Foreign Service at USAID who received a specific RIF notice with effective RIF dates of July 1, 2025 or September 2, 2025. If you received a RIF notice with a different effective date, please contact us at USAID@crowleyso.com.

Our understanding is that Foreign Service Limited employees who previously received RIF notices have since been issued superseding termination letters. Since FSLs are no longer subject to the Agency’s RIF, they cannot be included in our class appeal of the RIF.

If you are an FSL who has received a specific RIF notice and not a termination letter, please contact us.

The class action appeal is being funded by AFSA and Democracy Forward.

No.

Daniel Crowley and Katelyn Clarke of Crowley So, LLP and Elaine Fitch of Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman, and Fitch, P.C. (KCNF), have entered into a co-counsel agreement with AFSA and Democracy Forward to represent the class.

In a class action appeal, one or more employees file an appeal under their own names (our “named appellants”) and include with their appeal a request that the Administrative Judge (AJ) recognize them as representatives of an entire class of employees. The Request for class certification must establish 1) numerosity (the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impractical); 2) commonalty (there must be questions of law or fact common to the class); 3) typicality (the claims or defense of the named appellants must be typical of the claims or defenses of the class); and 4) adequacy of representation (the named appellants must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class).

The AJ should decide within 30 days whether to hear the case as a class appeal.

No. If the MSPB certifies the class, the Board's ruling will apply to all class members, whether or not you affirmatively agreed to join the class.

If you do not wish to be part of the class, you must file an individual appeal no later than 30 days after your RIF date.

If our class appeal is certified, you will receive notice of the decision and an opportunity to opt out of our class appeal.

If you wish to file an individual appeal, we strongly encourage you to consult with another attorney. The MSPB process is complicated, and it is difficult to succeed without the assistance of counsel.

There is no need to sign up other otherwise join the class action appeal. As explained above, if the MSPB certifies the class, the Board’s ruling will apply to all class members, regardless of whether you affirmatively agreed to join the class.

However, there are some instances in which filing other related claims may bar you from challenging your RIF at the MSPB. For example, you cannot challenge the RIF through both the Agency’s grievance procedure and the MSPB. If you plan to participate in any other litigation, you should talk with your lawyer about how our class action may impact your other litigation or vice versa. We will not seek to exclude anyone from the class for filing other litigation.

If the MSPB decides not to certify the class, members of the putative class will have 35 days, from the date of that decision, to file an individual RIF appeal.

It is important that you follow developments in the case so that you know when this occurs. Failure to meet the 35-day deadline will result in your appeal being time-barred.

We are optimistic that the MSPB will accept the request for class certification because it will be one of the only means for the Board to expeditiously address identical claims for hundreds of people. If class certification is denied, we would not be able to file thousands of separate appeals. However, we would be able to provide a template, which would also involve requesting that the cases be consolidated. The appeal form itself is not complicated, and it can be completed easily online.

If you would like to raise any other claims, you should consider filing an individual appeal.

An individual appeal must be filed no later than 30 days after your RIF date. We strongly encourage anyone considering an individual appeal to consult with another attorney.

Importantly, the 35-day deadline described in FAQ number 8 above only applies to class members filing individual appeals because the MSPB declined to accept the class appeal. Our class appeal does not otherwise serve to toll or extend any filing deadline.

It is impossible to list all claims that will not be included in the class appeal. However, some examples include claims of discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower reprisal. If you wish to pursue such a claim, or any other claim that is not included in the class appeal, you should consult with another attorney immediately. The time for filing these claims will not be tolled or extended by the filing of our class action appeal.

The lack of a quorum will not affect the AJ’s ability to hear the appeal. Once our appeal is filed, the case will be assigned to an AJ. There will be discovery, motions, and possible briefing before a hearing is held. Following a hearing, the AJ will issue an initial decision. If either the appellants or the agency disagree with the initial decision, they can file a petition for review within 35 days of the initial decision. Petitions for review are considered by the Board’s members. Alternately, appellants can appeal the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

For the Board to consider a petition for review, it must have a quorum consisting of at least two members. If the MSPB lacks a quorum, the case will not be considered until a quorum is established. The last time the Board lacked a quorum occurred between 2017 and 2022, which resulted in a backlog of approximately 4,000 cases.

As of today, the Board does not have a quorum, but that may change depending on the outcome of Cathy Harris’s challenge to her illegal termination. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69704122/cathy-harris-v-scott-bessent. If the Board remains without a quorum, we anticipate developing arguments to bypass the Board and proceed directly to the Court of Appeals.

If you have already received a specific RIF notice, you can go ahead and follow the advice from HCTM.

If you have not received a specific RIF notice, you should wait until you receive one.

If you submitted a retirement application before receiving any specific RIF notice, you should rescind your application and refile after receiving a specific RIF notice.

If you submitted a retirement application after receiving a February 2025 RIF notice but before receiving the March 2025 RIF notice, it is not necessary to resubmit your application. However, you may consider changing your retirement date.

You should follow any instructions you receive from HCTM regarding the date you should choose for retirement. In the absence of any instruction from HCTM, we suggest that you match your retirement date with your RIF date.

It is impossible to say for sure, but it could take years to complete litigation at the MSPB, given the unprecedented number of appeals being filed as a result of the administration’s actions. The timeline could be extended further if either party appeals the case.

If we prevail on the class action appeal, we anticipate that all class members will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits. We will also seek to recover all attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in pursuit of the appeal.

You will still be able to participate in the class action. If the MSPB reverses the RIF, you will be entitled to back pay, benefits, and reinstatement. Typically, any interim earnings would be deducted from your back pay award. If you prefer to stay at your new job instead of going back to work for USAID, you can do that.