The Trump administration revealed that Health and Human Services Department officials accidentally laid off nearly twice as many people as intended when they issued reduction-in-force notices last week, according to new court filings.
Thomas J. Nagy Jr., HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources, said in a court filing that “[a]s a result of data discrepancies and processing errors,” RIF notices were sent to approximately 1,760 employees last Friday — instead of the intended 982.
“Employees have been working since October 10, 2025, to rescind the notices that had been issued in error,” Nagy wrote. (The administration originally told a federal court in California that between 1,100 and 1,200 employees received RIF notices.) The filing was part of a lawsuit brought by labor unions challenging the administration’s shutdown layoffs guidance.