The United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday announced each of the 6,000 probationary employees it had terminated since Feb. 13 now has their job back, the department said in a press release.
“By Wednesday, March 12, the Department will place all terminated probationary employees in pay status and provide each with back pay, from the date of termination,” USDA’s statement said. “The Department will work quickly to develop a phased plan for return-to-duty, and while those plans materialize, all probationary employees will be paid.”
The Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent federal court that focuses on government employee complaints, issued a stay order against the USDA on March 5. The Board ordered the reinstatement of every position terminated within the department since Feb. 13 to be reinstated for at least 45 days, on the grounds that USDA’s mass and indiscriminate termination was likely unlawful.
Wednesday, March 12, was the deadline for the USDA to submit proof it had complied with the Board’s order.
USDA’s mass firing on Feb. 13 included thousands of federal land employees, around 75% of which had secondary wildland fire duties, according to Grassroots Wildland Firefighters Vice President Riva Duncan, who obtained the numbers from the National Federation of Federal Employees’ Wildland Fire division.
“While ‘primary firefighters’ were exempt, the positions that were cut made some pretty huge contributions to operational wildland fire,” Duncan said. “For example, eastern national forests rely much more heavily on these collateral duty folks to do a lot of prescribed burning and initial attack of wildfires…There were people working the LA fires who, because it was the offseason, weren’t primary fire but were filling in on engines and crews.”
We need our fire departments we need our firemen what in the world is going on this is ridiculous we can’t afford to fire them wake up America we need every single guy woman there they are wanted they are needed like I said wake up America
As a former NOAA employee I know that there is waste in the federal government. I also know that 99.9% of it involves politicians and their interactions with private contractors. I would support real reviews of government agencies and cuts to remove real waste. DOGE is neither of those.
With the numbers of massive fires increasing, especially in the western US, we obviously need more firefighters and more people working with the Firest Service on fire prevention. Rather than deporting people here that are illegals, we should be recruiting them into fire prevention jobs. Protect their status while employed and award them a green card after 3 years of service. As global warming heats up the country, these jobs will always be needed especially since our leader claims there us no climate change and wants to Drill, Drill, Drill to produce more pollution to heat the atmosphere.
You can bet the same people that want to fire all the govt. employees will be the ones complaining the most when the response to a wildfire or other disaster is inadequate.
As a wildland firefighter for 28 years, I can say that these employees whether local, state or federal, deserve our respsect. it takes about a week to be trained to be a basic wildland firefighter and many years of experience and additional specific training to be effective and safe. The really good ones rely on this as a sole source of income in the summer. If they can’t rely on consistency then they will be forced to find other employment to live and they cannot be replaced quickly on a political whim. To say some sort of audit was done to find waste and fraud and fire these men and women is akin to auditing your finances and then realizing giving away all of your money is not the best idea.
Agree 100%. After working in overhead positions such as dispatcher and time keeper it takes a village to fight a fire. Yes, it was required to take and pass basic fire training to work as dispatcher. Fire crews are under appreciated by public.
Americans voted for reduced government,it will be painful for many. F irefighters deserve our respect and are necessary. Having grown up in the days of privatized timber ,sawmills and sawmill workers ,I saw what happens when forest management is run by those who feel rather than those who see. Most fires could be avoided by reasonable management carried out by private entities. Control the bugs, control the fires.
So relieved. I’m so sorry you guys are dealing with this, it’s ridiculous. Thanks for all you do!
Wild land FF are necessary. They get paid around 40. An hour. Great wages. Issue is, Forest Service “ let it burn policies,” waste timber, land use and $$ for those big wages. Great for the WLFF. Also smart logging could make forests look like parks if it were allowed. Clean up after timber removal and stop the let it burn!
If you were a firefighter you would realize every part of what you wrote is wrong
A GS3 seasonal gets around $12/hour. I don’t know off hand what an average Fire fiighter gets but it seem/hs that $40/hour is a stretch at best. All fire fighters depend on the season to make good money. I happen to know some whose wives have to rely on food stamps to make it. Besides the low pay, it’s an unhealthy job. Fire fighters need the raise they were promised.
Firefighters should not have been fired. Whether full, part time or probationary. The country needs them. That being said, if anyone’s worked in the private sector, no job is guaranteed.
These are speciality jobs and they should be treated respect! They put their life on the line for us! I think of the Marines’ slogan: The few, the proud, and the brave!
I am so glad to hear this and that’s the courts and laws stood strong. Hopefully there is hope for USAID, the IRS, The Dept. of Education, Consumer Protections, the list goes on and on .
Read the article it said “likely was unlawful”. It was lawful no job is a guarantee and they will likely lose the job again because of this board. The problem is they are saying all this is unlawful without proving it to actually be unlawful. Which will end up hurting these folks more than help them in the long run. They should be required to prove the order was unlawful before returning these folks to work.
The judge overstepped his authority. The hiring and firing of executive branch federal employees is within the scope of the executive branch of government. As long as the terminations weren’t discriminatory, they will be legal. This judge is trying to legislate from the bench and is really screwing with the lives of these on again, off again employees. They should follow Biden’s advice and learn to code.
Checks and balances are part of our system of government in order to prevent any one branch from having too much power over the others.
There are laws in place that govern the treatment of federal employees.
The courts are doing their job.
Well then! It’s time for those people who know it all about forest firefighting such as those supporting this firing Trump included, to step up when the need arises to battle in the hottest forest fires around the country! Or simply put..don’t call 911 when you’re in need of help including personal health issues(some of them provide that care also)!
They rehired the firefighters but they closed our local NOAA office here in South East Idaho and they are the ones that do the fire watch. How will the fire fighters get directed to the fires in the back country before it becomes an all out Blaze?
All positions in USFS and BLM are in engaged in practices that reduce fire loads. And, let’s point out the obvious- these are all newer hires, at the bottom of the pay scale, and therefore, not the ones you want to cut. Most people start with older employees and middle management.
In wildland firefighting, it’s a little different. The ones at the top and middle of the payscale, are the ones that keep the bottom of the pay scale alive. And although many of the summer employees we let go and now gladly rehired they had not begun their work yet. They are hired early to be sure the ranks are filled, and begin work in April.
Also anyone who receives a promotion is considered on probation initially. So choosing to fire probationary employees includes firing anyone recently recognized for good work and promoted.
People should know that with some exceptions, most reinstated USDA employees will never be “returned to duty”. They are going to pay us to be on administrative leave until we are RIFed.
They didn’t hire back the “seasonal” firefighters who help the states with wildfires.
I think it’s great they got their jobs back, hopefully this time it’s permanent
Rehired, but i noticed it said for 45 days…then what? Very cruel to workers who still don’t know what’s ahead.
I do not understand firing all the apparent fire fighters. Especially with all the wild fires that are occurring all across this country. Especially in the western states. I originally lived in Calif for 65 years except for my military time on Guam. I’ve seen some horrible fires besides the Los Angles fires. These fire departments need All the help they can get. No matter their size. “Off season” they can do preventive work. God Bless our firefighters.
If you think the current federal leadership are incompetent, purposefully destroying government services, get active in your local community organizations and help stop them. People have power. Power sits silent if it is not exercised.
Yes
What about the other fired workers at places like USAID?
I think President Trump and his employees are doing what the people who voted for him expect him to do. Sorry if it’s got a few lumps in it..
I’m sorry, I never respond to these things, but each of those 6000 people were one of your ‘lumps’.
I’m sure your comment would be different. If you were the one terminated, or your significant other, or your child, or your parent. It’s very easy to sit back and say those things when it doesn’t impact your day-to-day life. Imagine not being able to pay your mortgage or put food on the table for your children or to afford critical medications for a loved one.
I’m not for people getting fired, but some of these comments are far from reality. People in the real world get fired or laid off all the time. I’m not talking about the need or not need for these individuals. It’s the how would you feel stuff. No one would want to be on that side of the axe, but the government has turned into a giant gravy train. Cutting slow will never work. Cutting recklessly is bad as well, but some of these jobs and contracts needed to be erased.
I think we do not know all of the details as to why these folks were originally let go. I trust the current administration a lot more than the one before who let LA burn down and allowed NC folks to suffer while supporting ruthless wars. I’m glad these folks are being rehired. From what we know, I would say it’s the right thing to do. These people chose an admirable career and they are very needed, so I am grateful, not mad.
What reason for letting all the firefighters go would suffice for you? I can’t think of any that I would be okay with swallowing
Few lumps? LOL!
I’m a spouse of one of said employees. I’m an HCP, spouse work(ed/s?) with USDA. We moved across the country to a very rural farming region of the US for my spouse’s position. Spouse’s annual review was the highest rating possible, and illegally fired for “poor performance” along with the other 6k people. We left everything we had, including family and higher-paying job opportunities, to move somewhere with significantly fewer jobs so we could support farmers and start a family in a wholesome community. There’s not a position in the private sector for my spouse within an hour’s drive in any direction where we live now. We’re honest, hard-working people who try to do the right thing and worked through college. Please don’t view us as “lumps” to be sacrificed.
Thank you.
Having an actual strategy for reorganizing the government and understanding the policies that affect actions would be a more efficient process. Blindly making decisions that halt services to the public, cause chaos, and impact people professionally and personally doesn’t scream leadership or savvy businesses man to me. Most people (including us government workers) wouldn’t disagree with updated performance measures, or more efficiency or accountability, but this isn’t an attempt on any of those things. This is a quick move to try and pretend one kept their campaign promises (because they really don’t have a plan or know what their doing) and it’s having a real negative impact on the people providing services as well as those that rely on them. People also seem to forget that government workers pay taxes as well, and government workers are bound by the same awful bureaucratic red tape that frustrates the public. If you want to make the system more efficient then work on some of that, don’t go blindly firing the lowest paid, hardest working, boots on the ground workers that are the ones providing the actual service to the public.
While anyone can be fired, the employer must have cause. I’m still waiting to see the evidence. Probationary employees in civil service jobs are not necessarily new hires. Those who are promoted are also considered probationary for a period of time. This means there is a lot of knowledge and experience going out the door.
Firing firefighters with all the wildfires nowadays? Insane and an obvious sign of incompetence and ignorance.
I agree but I see a lot of dislikes on this thread. What has gotten into people? I would like it if the many who are disliking the comments to weigh in on why they dislike these comments. You can do it anonymously.
Fired workers rehired? Not all will return to work.
Training sessions rescheduled. Workforce readiness delays.
A Super Shit Show!
I couldn’t believe the letters sent to the workers they fired. Demanding they come back to work, no apologies for firing them when they shouldn’t have, just a oh, so your job actually is important, we demand you be back at work on this day and time. Some of these people have already gone out and gotten other jobs, when they can
A complete waste of time, lost hours for their training , then hurry up bringing them up to speed??
Not to mention what they went through after they were fired, the anxiety, worry, lost wages, interruption in plans and for what??
Do he can demonstrate his incompetence? Or his delight in causing chaos?
I’m happy for the employees and very grateful for their dedication and hard work.
Decision on who stays and who goes should be based on merit and decided by cabinet secretarys. No different than those of us in the private sector that work for managers and directors. Remove the waste
Maybe the decision should be based on projections on how bad this summer’s wildfire season will be, and how many firefighters will be needed? The great majority of wildland fire crews are seasonal employees,
and firing 6000 people who contribute to firefighting shows that there is no “audit ” going on, only arbitrary firings. As for merit, during fire season, these people are working fires 12-16 hour days for 14 days straight before they get a day off.
Nice thought regarding “removing the waste” but the problem is you can’t accomplish that when you unilaterally fire people without proper cause or don’t do your due diligence to at least investigate what services hey provide to the taxpayers. It is similar to “legislation untouched by human thought”. We need competent leaders that will cut the “waste” but have the ability and intelligence to distinguish what is a necessary service and what is not a necessity. Most of the 6000 jobs lost were entry level, low paying jobs that may not be positions that a merit based evaluation is even possible. Like it or not, there are many government jobs that are very essential and there needs to be more consideration taken than numbers and dollars when it is time to “remove the waste” or trim the budget.
They should never have been fired. That being said, how much did that cost the tax payer? Back pay for a month of not working. I am not saying that they shouldn’t be paid, just that they never should have been fired and that these hasty decision are inefficient and costing us money for nothing.
Was inefficient but the money would be the same cost. They just gave them back pay but no interest, as I understand. I pray they keep their jobs longer than 45 days. Make careers in the fire service.
“Costing us money” there is no additional cost involved in the back pay. Those costs/salaries would have been paid out if they weren’t fired. Doesn’t cost the taxpayer anymore.
“There is no additional cost…”
Staff is fired. Staff and managers who remained began to plan for the coming season based on that reality. Old plans scrapped. Project work re-thought, reprioritized, training needs re thought and scheduled, supplies and materials replanned. Seasonal/temporary hiring processes started, contracts written and developed to accomplish necessary work by other means.
Check that, just kidding; wait another 45 days to see what happens.
Damage to morale, which will affect quantity and quality of production.
“…no additional cost…” Really?
Seriously?!?!?! You’re joking right? Fired, now given full back pay for zero work performed during the period they were unemployed! Which esteemed Business school did you graduated from?
Didn’t cost the government any additional funds. The positions had already been funded. Realistically, the administration will appeal and the people will be back out of work. So far the administration has won every appellate decision regarding terminations. Once again, a low level judge is playing politics, not following the law.
This is a lie and it’s false. Trump has been losing in all the courts with his ridiculous decisions so far. Not to mention the supreme court
Shit show is the only comment that comes to mind.
Absolutely agree.
Good news for those folks! But for at least 45 days? Curious. Do the different Dept. heads get to weigh in on people staying longer or is it up to Count Tesla?
Having worked for USDA Forest Service Timber Management under Carter and Regan, I knew these firings were a recipe for disaster. I fought about 10 fires a year along with workers from Recreation, Engineering and other departments.
Thank you for your Service and Dedication to the vital service you performed in safeguarding our Public Lands and people.