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.
In guidance sent by HHS that was reviewed by NOTUS, an official broke down the 982 fired employees by agency division.
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Among the largest cuts: 596 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 125 at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 99 at the Health Resources and Services Administration; and 55 at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.
The other impacted offices were the Administration for Children and Families (47 employees); the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (41); the Assistant Secretary for Administration (18); and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (1).
HHS was not the only department to issue far more RIFs than intended.
Justice Department attorneys last week told a federal judge that the administration laid off at least 4,100 employees when it started issuing RIF notices. But government officials have now filed new numbers that show discrepancies.
Administration officials last Friday said they had laid off approximately 176 employees from the Department of Homeland Security. Now, the number is 54.
Officials also said RIF notices were sent to 1,446 employees at the Treasury Department. That number has since been updated to 1,377.
“The situation involving the lapse in appropriations, and RIFs related to that lapse, is fluid and rapidly evolving. As such, any numbers provided, while based on the most current information made available to me at the time of my declaration, are subject to change as agencies are continually finalizing their RIF plans,” Stephen Billy, senior adviser at the Office of Management and Budget, said in the filing explaining the discrepancies.
The administration said last week that the Department of Energy initially had 187 cuts, but that number was updated to 179. Billy, however, clarified that these employees had not been laid off, but instead received “a general RIF notice informing these employees that they may receive a specific notice in the future.”
Additionally, the Department of Commerce initially said 315 people were laid off last Friday. However, on the new Tuesday court filings, the number increased to 600. Billy said that was due to including “RIF notices that were issued on Wednesday, October 1, those issued Friday, October 10, and all others that are known and anticipated for action at this time.”
It is unclear why the Department of Commerce was the only agency whose new numbers included layoffs conducted before the government shutdown.
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