{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-351.601","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 351.601","heading":"Order of release from competitive level.","body":"(a) Each agency must select competing employees for release from a competitive level (including release from a competitive level involving a pay band) under this part in the inverse order of retention standing, beginning with the employee with the lowest retention standing on the retention register. An agency may not release a competing employee from a competitive level while retaining in that level an employee with lower retention standing except:\n(1) As required under § 351.606 when an employee is retained under a mandatory exception or under § 351.806 when an employee is entitled to a new written notice of reduction in force; or\n(2) As permitted under § 351.607 when an employee is retained under a permissive continuing exception or under § 351.608 when an employee is retained under a permissive temporary exception.\n(b) At its option an agency may provide for intervening displacement within the competitive level before final release of the employee with the lowest-retention standing from the competitive level.\n(c) When employees in the same retention subgroup have identical service dates and are tied for release from a competitive level, the agency may select any tied employee for release.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER I—OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT","SUBCHAPTER B—CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS","PART 351—REDUCTION IN FORCE","Subpart F—Release From Competitive Level"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-5.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:23:53Z","sha256":"121074579de3fd281f833c0457fd692736598d5a2e49a11cdbd6b73ebc23f918","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-351.506","next":"us/5-cfr-351.602"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}