Federal Agencies Start Mass Layoffs, Probationary Employees Targeted

It’s a tough day for many in the federal workforce, as the Trump Administration started mass layoffs.

The first wave to go: mostly new workers still in their probationary periods. They are easier for the administration to remove, since they lack robust civil service protections.

In terms of numbers, more than 10,000 federal employees across multiple agencies were fired over President’s Day weekend. The layoffs come just days after the president signed an executive order telling agencies to prepare for a large-scale reduction in force (RIF). The president signed that order in the Oval Office alongside billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been taking the lead in identifying programs and areas to cut.

As mentioned, the initial targets were largely federal workers on probationary status. While many workers were in their first year as feds, the cuts also swept up long term federal employees who had recently switched agencies, as well as military veterans and people with disabilities hired under a program that required two years’ probation. 

“Poor Performance” Questioned

According to the Washington Post, probationary workers were told they were getting fired for poor job performance, although many had recently received positive reviews, and others hadn’t worked in the federal government long enough to receive a rating at all.

NBC News reporting corroborates that view.

“These letters that we’re sending these employees, I feel so bad because they’re lying,” a personal familiar with the matter said. “All of them, pretty much, were exceptional performers. It’s just crazy to me.”

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defended the cuts saying, “The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment.”

Impact Felt Up and Down the Federal Government

The cuts hit across agencies and in critical government areas. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) cut as many as 2,000 workers, including some in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which manages the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

The administration is now backtracking and trying to rehire some of the fired nuclear safety employees. “It was ridiculous, unprecedented and sloppy. There’s no formal process,” a NNSA employee told CNN.

At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), workers were cut at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 1,300 workers were cut at the CDC, or about ten percent of its workforce. At NIH, Reuters reports a “huge” number of nurses were terminated.  Cuts were also expanded to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Medicare.

At the Department of the Interior, at least 2,300 workers were cut, while the Department of Homeland Security cut about 400 positions. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cut about 1,000 probationary workers. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fired nearly 300 employees, just weeks after the fatal collision between an American Airlines jet and a Blackhawk helicopter. 

“I’d understand a strategic reduction in force if needed,” said one USDA employee, who was fired over the weekend to the Washington Post. “But this was a butchering of some of our best. Does the public know this?” 

Remedies for Fired Employees

While probationary employees lack the robust appeals process of career civil servants, there are ways fired employees can assert the rights they do have. 

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) published a bulletin, Information Sheet No. 4, that gives instructions on what terminated employees on probation can and cannot do.

The MSPB notes that “Probationary employees do not have a statutory right to appeal their termination to the Board” although there is a little wiggle room.

“Your right to appeal your removal to the Board will depend on whether you meet the definition of an “employee” under the law (5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)) and whether you meet the requirements of any OPM regulation that grants additional appeal rights. Whether you are an “employee” with appeal rights will depend in part on whether you are in the competitive service (defined in 5 C.F.R. § 212.101) or the excepted service (defined in 5 C.F.R. § 213.101),” stated the MSPB.

MSPB says employees have the right to file an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, as well as a grievance or a request for corrective action with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

However, employees are warned to think it through.

“You should quickly attempt to determine whether such options exist before you file an appeal, because frequently the type of review you seek first constitutes an ‘election of remedy’ that may limit or preclude other review options,” the board stated.

In addition to the appeals process, unions are also pursuing legal action.