Thousands of probationary federal workers who were reinstated and immediately placed on administrative leave due to recent court orders are stuck in limbo, uncertain if they will ever return to their duties as agencies prepare for another round of cuts ordered by President Donald Trump.
Two separate federal judges ordered the Trump administration to reinstate roughly 25,000 probationary employees who had been fired from 18 federal agencies, according to data provided to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The terminations were part of Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal bureaucracy, assisted by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
In interviews with half a dozen fired probationary federal employees, they describe a rollercoaster of emotions, with growing fears their jobs will once again be on the chopping block after federal agencies implement reduction-in-force plans they submitted to the Office of Personnel Management last week.
“It’s been emotional whiplash — you’re fired, no you’re not fired, you’re on administrative leave — so many mixed messages,” a reinstated employee at the Department of Transportation told the Washington Examiner, requesting anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “This is taking a toll on my mental health, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking for opportunities elsewhere.”
The Trump administration is appealing the decisions blocking the terminations of probationary employees across the federal government. Several personnel said the wording of their reinstatement letters was confusing and raised fears that they would have to return the backpay awarded to them if a court overturned the court orders.
“In the event the [temporary restraining order] is invalidated by a higher court and/or the Department subsequently prevails in this litigation matter, and you remain in your position of record at that time, the Department may revert your prior termination action to its original effective date and waive any indebtedness to the Federal government that you concur resulting from the Department’s compliance with the TRO,” said the reinstatement letter sent to employees at agencies within the Department of Commerce.
“I’m glad that I’m getting paid again eventually — I guess I’ll find out when the next check is supposed to drop, whether or not they’re actually honoring that,” said an employee at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was reinstated on Monday. “I don’t trust a word in this document. They’ve broken any trust that they would have gotten, period — based on the way everyone’s been treated.”
“I’m looking for another job — I don’t want another job, I want to be very clear,” the person said. “I took a pay cut to go into federal service in the first place. So, we are reluctantly, in a lot of cases, looking for other jobs.”
Adding to the tension is that another phase of large-scale reorganization plans for agencies is expected soon. A White House memo instructed agencies to submit more plans about how they will consolidate management and relocate offices to less expensive parts of the country by April 14 and then to implement plans by Sept. 30.
“We don’t want to wait it out and see what happens with our positions because they can decide to get rid of us again,” the NOAA employee explained. “It’s incredibly frustrating. It’s also depressing.”
The Trump administration was able to fire thousands of federal employees with probationary status relatively quickly, with the dismissals coming out in waves at the direction of OPM, the human resources department of the federal government. However, the reinstatements have proven to be more challenging.
Agencies cited the burden of the work to re-onboard their terminated employees in filings to the Maryland court.
Employees “would have to be onboarded again, including going through any applicable training, filling out human resources paperwork, obtaining new security badges, reinstituting applicable security clearance actions, receiving government furnished equipment,” according to documents from the Commerce Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Employees could be subjected to multiple changes in their employment status in a matter of weeks,” a sentence in filings from 13 agencies said.
The cost of re-onboarding the 24,000 employees could range from $120 million to $480 million, according to an estimate published by We the Builders, a website created by a dozen current and former federal workers to share technical expertise regarding matters related to the federal government.
Several reinstated employees said their health insurance had not been reactivated, another source of stress. One employee explained his government insurance was crucial for his pregnant wife and 2-year-old child.
“I received a letter from Blue Cross healthcare system stating I was terminated from the system and haven’t received anything saying I’m re-enrolled,” said the person, who also works at NOAA. “My wife is pregnant with our second, and we are worried about the impact on our insurance and ability to pay for things.”
“I never received my separation paperwork beyond the termination email, so I had to track down all the details about the insurance on my own,” he explained. “On top of that, the reinstatement letter contained no details, so we are unsure if we have insurance again.”
Adam Mulvey, a probationary employee who lost his job at a federal healthcare center in Illinois, said the agency rehired him but then put him on paid leave. He said the experience has made him more eager to return to his work as an emergency management specialist at the facility that serves as a Veterans Affairs hospital.
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“It’s given me a platform to speak about what I’ve been doing and share what goes on at the VA,” Mulvey explained in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“A lot of the people that I talk to have no experience in the VA, don’t have experience in the government background, so I’m the first person they’ve spoken to about what a government employee is really doing,” he said. “Being able to share that story and meet with so many people has definitely renewed my commitment.”
Mulvey, who was responsible for conducting drills and exercises on active shooter scenarios, mass casualty situations, and more, said he has looked into other opportunities in the private sector. However, he said his first choice would be to return to his prior position.
“I probably should be more concerned and have anxiety over all of these changes. But 20 years in a military career, I’m used to things changing very quickly. This has been positive,” he added.