President Donald Trump moved from a return-to-work executive order for all federal employees to a do not return to work order for thousands across federal departments.
His laying off of probationary employees sparked a complaint last week because federal laws prohibit firing federal employees based on how long they have been in their position.
Attorneys with Democracy Forward and a private law firm outline in their complaint, as reported by USA Today, that the federal government’s complex system of merit-based employment allows probationary employees to prove their aptitude over time. Probationary employees must be assessed individually and assessment must be based on their performance.
“Mass indiscriminate terminations are, by definition, not based on the performance of the individual employee,” the complaint stated.
In his attempt to cut government waste, Trump issued layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration.
Hundreds of FAA employees were fired last weekend despite an already existing staffing crisis at the FAA. The union which represents FAA employees, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, said in a statement that nearly 300 maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, environmental protection specialists, aviation safety assistants, and management and program assistants were given termination notices.
As reported by MSNBC, the union said the layoffs are “especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.”
“This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin,” PASS said.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the FAA is one of several federal agencies which regulates Elon Musk‘s companies or has investigated his companies. Specifically, the FAA regulates the rocket launches by SpaceX, Musk’s aeronautics company. Last year, the FAA considered civil penalties against SpaceX after a failure to follow license requirements during launches was revealed. Musk said he would sue the FAA.
Several U.S.D.A. employees who were fired were called back because they are responsible for the federal response to the H5N1 bird flu virus.
At the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday afternoon, 950 employees were laid off, but hours later the layoffs were rescinded.
Forbes reported that on Monday layoffs reached the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Energy, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Trump Administration also sent a buyout offer to federal employees to voluntarily leave with pay through September. Only 75,000 workers reportedly took the buyout before the offer expired, equivalent to approximately half of the federal workforce that quits or retires each year.
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia issued a statement after Trump’s executive order to decimate the nation’s federal workforce.
“President Trump signed an executive order taking an axe to the federal workforce — the nation’s largest employer — with sweeping layoffs that will impact hundreds of thousands of people and their families. This action especially harms our nation’s veterans, who make up nearly a third of the federal workforce,” McClellan said.
She added that she is “devastated for these civil servants — many of which call Virginia home — who work tirelessly to provide the essential services Americans all over the country rely on every day.”
From veterans’ healthcare services to cancer treatment research, federal employees “often goes unseen, but will undoubtedly be felt by every American when not working properly.”
Trump and the unelected Musk are intent on ridding the federal government of waste, fraud and abuse by slashing services that benefit all Americans in order to fund tax cuts for America‘s wealthiest few. McClellan called the situation “an abuse of executive power.” She encouraged everyone who can, to stay in the fight.
“We need you.”
Last week, McClellan defended the federal workforce on the House floor and participated in a roundtable with civil service organizations to coordinate action against the Trump Administration’s attacks on the federal workforce. Last month, she led the Virginia House Democratic delegation in a letter urging the Trump Administration to rescind or revoke their federal hiring freeze.
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Rebecca Barnabi
