As part of Trump’s first round of government shrinkage, thousands of federal employees were fired on Thursday. These dismissals were aimed at probationary employees – those with less than 2 years of service – because they had little job protection.
The Merit Systems Protection Board can be contacted by recent hires who are on probationary status. They may still have the right to appeal if the terminations were for political or partisan reasons.
OPM held a conference call earlier this week with the general counsels of federal agencies and told them to refrain from firing probationary workers in large numbers. OPM instructed agencies to terminate only those workers who were deemed ineffective.
Still, there have been many dismissals, at least in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Small Business Administration (SBA), Education Department, General Services Administration, and now OPM.
Two days earlier, a federal court had reinstated Trump’s plan for buyouts. If a probationary worker had accepted the buyout plan, they would not have been fired immediately.
The number of federal employees hired in the past two years who will be affected was not immediately known. A person with knowledge of the issue said that some employees would be exempted from this, including those who work on issues related to public safety and law enforcement. Agency heads may also exclude others.
Everett Kelley is the president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union that represents federal workers. He said in a press release his union will “fight these terminations every step of the way”, including by “pursuing [every] legal challenge possible.”
Kelley stated that “the employees were not given any notice, due process or opportunity to defend themselves, which is a flagrant violation of the principles governing federal employment, such as fairness and merit.”
Ironic that the same unions who were laughed out of court for opposing the buyout, and who encouraged bargaining unit members not to accept the deal now defend the people it has disadvantaged.
What do you think about these firings?
It is first a sign that the administration has a serious intention to reduce the size of government. This is a sign that the administration does not believe that John Thune or Mike Johnson can get enough support from their caucus to have this formalized. Both have razor-thin majorities, and only enough quislings are left to stop any action.
This is also the worst possible way to reduce force if your goal is to reshape agencies rather than eliminate them. Ideally, you should peel off one side of the force structure, while retaining all experience levels. You don’t need to eliminate anyone who was hired within the past two years.
Third, it is an effective way to get rid of all the people Joe Biden hired into the Civil Service. This will not violate rules prohibiting firings for political reasons. Some talented people will be let go. But along with them will be a whole new generation of leftists who want to turn our country into a post-apocalyptic s**hole.
Four, coupled with an extremely serious hiring freeze the mass firings will make it difficult for agencies to accomplish many of their goals.
I am sure that this case will end up in court. However, as we saw yesterday, personnel actions have to go through an administrative appeal before they can be brought to court. Unions may be fuming, but a massive firing will take decades to adjudicate.
