US expects hundreds at health department to lose job protections, email says

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration expects hundreds of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers to be stripped of civil service job protections, according to an emailed memo reviewed by Reuters.

HHS employees at several agencies received the email, which said positions on their teams could be affected by the reclassification, known as Schedule P/C and formerly as Schedule F.

At HHS the reclassification is initially expected to apply to employees "on the order of hundreds, not thousands," the email said, with additional tranches to follow.

An HHS official confirmed the email's authenticity and said it "reflects the finalization of previously announced RIFs," referring to reductions in force or mass layoffs. The official said no new RIFs were planned.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by David Gregorio)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 1:45 PM.