Fired Federal Workers in Wisconsin Reinstated, But for How Long?
Ruling is temporary. Some workers received back pay, some placed on leave.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest covers more than 1.5 million acres in Wisconsin. Rob Mentzer/WPR
Some fired federal workers in Wisconsin are already receiving back pay after being reinstated, but other employees are still awaiting payment or have been placed on paid leave.
On Thursday last week, two judges called for temporary reinstatement of probationary employees fired en masse for poor performance, finding the firings were unlawful. One of the rulings stemmed from a case brought by 20 Democratic attorneys general, including Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar ordered 18 agencies to temporarily reinstate fired probationary employees, including the Departments of Agriculture, Interior and Veterans Affairs.
A VA worker in Wisconsin, who asked to remain anonymous, said they received a message Monday that they’d been reinstated but placed on paid leave. They declined to give their name due to fear of retaliation.
“What a wonderful savings of rooting out waste and fraud by firing everybody, cutting workforces to points where they’re less effective — and now having to rehire them all, pay us back pay and continue paying us to stay home,” the fired VA worker said.
The employee said they had not yet received back pay or a timeline for when they may receive payment, but said they were told by email they would receive full salary and benefits while on leave.
Pete Kasperowicz, the press secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs, said the agency is complying with the rulings and declined to comment further. In a court filing, the agency said returning employees to work “would impose substantial burdens on VA, cause significant confusion, and cause turmoil for the terminated employees.” The Trump administration is appealing both rulings.
An email informing a Veterans Affairs employee in Wisconsin of their reinstatement.
‘This should have never happened’
Michele Malone, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3 union, said she’s heard employees have been reinstated at the Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee. Ten probationary workers were fired out of its more than 2,000 employees in late February, including three veterans. She said one employee has already accepted another job.
“I feel that it was very unnecessary that they did what they did,” Malone said. “This should have never happened.”
The workers at Zablocki are among 1,683 probationary employees who had been terminated at the VA as of Monday. Malone said she worries that large-scale layoffs known as a reduction in force, or RIF, will only affect even more lives and veterans care. The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the agency plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs. Almost 11,000 people work for Veterans Affairs in Wisconsin.
A fired worker with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest received back pay last week and plans to go back to work on Tuesday. They spoke with WPR anonymously due to fear they may face retaliation or lose pay after being reinstated.
“The longer you go without a job, the harder it is. That savings that our family has built up over the years dwindles every month that I wouldn’t have received a paycheck,” they said. “I’m really excited to have my job back. I really like my job with the Forest Service, and I see the value it brings to our community and our region.”
The USDA confirmed 20 probationary employees with the Forest Service had been fired in Wisconsin, including 12 within the Chequmegon-Nicolet National Forest. All workers will receive back pay from the date of their termination as of March 12.
“The Department is developing a phased plan for return-to-duty,” the agency said. “ While those plans materialize, all probationary employees will be paid.”
The worker is among 5,714 probationary employees within the USDA who were terminated on or after Feb. 13. A local union representative with the Forest Service asked to remain anonymous because he’s worried about his job. He said employees on the Chequamegon-Nicolet could return to work as soon as Monday, but their reinstatement is only guaranteed to last for 45 days under the rulings.
“A lot of these employees are grateful to be paid, want to be working, but also worried about the coming reduction in force,” he said.
The local union representative said no plan has been shared with the union. He fears employees will be asked to do more with less, affecting services. He estimated around a dozen of the forest’s roughly 150 employees accepted the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program.
A USDA worker in Wisconsin said they received notice of their reinstatement on Tuesday, but they’ve yet to receive back pay. They requested anonymity due to fear they may lose that payment or future compensation.
“I’ve been checking my bank account twice a day,” the USDA worker said.
The probationary employee said they were last paid a month ago. While grateful for reinstatement, they don’t feel they’ll be getting their job back as they’ve been placed on paid leave.
“What we’re seeing is the courts and the judicial system effectively checking these executive orders to an extent, and that’s really important for democracy to work,” the federal worker said. “At the same time, just getting put on paid administrative leave for an unknown amount of time until potentially I’ll just get refired, doesn’t necessarily feel like what those rulings were intended to do.”
Fired federal workers in Wisconsin are reinstated, but they fear not for long was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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