Climate, energy agencies hire back probationary employees
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Signage outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Photo: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Energy Department, along with EPA and NOAA, hired back many probationary employees who had been laid off in a round of cuts last month.
Why it matters: The step taken Monday is being done to comply with recent court rulings that held the workers' firings were illegally carried out.
- These employees aren't being put back to work, but placed on paid administrative leave while court cases play out.
Zoom in: The cuts were made at the behest of the Office of Personnel Management, where billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has set up shop.
- At the Energy Department, some probationary employees received a letter on Monday informing them that they would be brought back and put on paid administrative leave beginning with the date they were let go.
- A notification to EPA employees affects 419 people at the agency, EPA said in a statement.
At NOAA, the nation's top weather and climate science agency, some employees who were fired on Feb. 27 were also told they were being brought back on paid administrative leave, back-dated to their date of termination.
- This will continue, the letter that NOAA employees received from the Commerce Department said, "until such time as this litigation is resolved or the Department of Commerce determines to take other administrative action with respect to your employment."
- An Interior Department spokesperson declined to comment on its situation, citing a policy of not doing so on matters involving litigation and personnel.
Yes, but: It's unclear what the long-term status of these employees will be given that legal wrangling over the layoffs continues in the federal courts.
- Two rulings handed down on last week led to Monday's moves at multiple agencies, though subsequent appeals could result in a re-dismissal of these employees.
- The letter indicates the department is responding to a temporary restraining order in one of the court cases, State of Maryland v. United States Department of Agriculture.
- Also, further cuts are likely as agencies' pursue reductions in force (RIF) to cut as many as 20% to 50% of their workforces in a bid to shrink to the size of the federal bureaucracy.
The intrigue: The layoffs at NOAA have caused the National Weather Service to cut back on some of its services, such as routine weather balloon launches considered crucial for making accurate weather forecasts.
- Further cuts could jeopardize the agency's mission to protect life and property, forecasters warn.
-- With assistance from Ben Geman and Daniel Moore
Go deeper:
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