In the news about the Trump administration's efforts to destroy jobs, one class of federal workers appears repeatedly: “probation” employees.
6,700 people with that status have been given up on the Internal Revenue Service. The Department of Health and Human Services reports indicate that the total could be 5,200. The Pentagon announced last week it would close its 5,400. The Forest Service may cut 3,400.
These workers, who generally provide services for less than one or two years in their current position, have the weakest protection and are therefore a specific target among civil servants. This is something else we know about people being shown the door.
What does “probation” mean?
Under federal law, civil servants continue to be on probation for a year after a civil servant is hired, promoted, demoted, or otherwise reassigned. People in the “excluded” service may have been on probation for two years, although this means they will not go through the usual competitive selection process.
While on probation, a federal employee may be inherently free to be fired, but that person's superior may be in the employee's “failure to perform or behaviour at work during this period and to make it easier for him to do so.” You must show that you are eligible for continuous employment. (Many termination notices included language about employee inadequate performance, but usually there is no evidence.) Probation employees are subject to partisan political reasons or illegal discrimination. You can also sue if you believe you have been fired based on this.
Increases the right to appeal the dismissal to the Merit Systems Protection Board after an employee completes his probation period. Under these rules regarding due process, the agency must show that the employee is not at work or that the work is no longer necessary.
The blamed employees are being expelled using a process known as “forced reduction.” This is intended for situations where an agency must either lose funds or suspend certain functions for other reasons. The process is subject to complex rules.
How many probation workers are there?
Federal records are not formally tagged with employees on probation. Partnership for Public Services, a nonprofit group focused on improving government employee practices, has announced that it will be based on employment date extrapolation from the latest data release in March 2024 to dates of employment. It is estimated that there are 250,000 types of workers. I believe this is a shortage. This is about 11% of the federal private workforce that does not include employees in postal services.
So far, purges for probation employees have not come close to those numbers, but the cut appears to be over.
who are they?
According to the partnership for public services analysis, approximately 27% of probation workers are under the age of 30, disproportionately younger than other federal employees.
In the final year of the Biden administration, the government hired many health professionals, some to meet the needs of veterans, and cybersecurity experts. Many of these employees have a wealth of options in the private sector, making it difficult to plead.
“These are exactly the skills we need,” said Jenny Mattingly, vice president of federal affairs at the partnership. “So they were just hired, so we sent them out the door.”
However, not all probation employees are early in their careers, and many have provided years of experience and specialized training in their roles.
One of them requested anonymity over family safety concerns and maintained a national airspace chart for the Federal Aviation Administration. The employee who received his termination letter three weeks before his probation ended said he had earned a master's degree in geospatial information and had worked in the same role as the contractor before being hired. The worker was one of three members who were cut from a team of 12.
“I'm worried about air travel and public safety,” the workers said.
How are probation employees fighting back?
Several lawsuits are underway.
The legal group has promptly filed a class action complaint on behalf of fired trial workers with the Special Adviser's Office, the White House office that protects whi's blow-off. On Monday, citing the lack of proper procedures, the office head recommended that termination be suspended during the investigation. These requests come before the Merit Systems Protection Board, a panel of three judges adjudicates federal personnel disputes.
Separately, the federal employee union sued the government over the many types of mass shootings in the White House. The judge said that in that case the temporary injunction must be denied and brought it before federal labor authorities.
In another legal action, a group of union sued the Personnel Management Bureau, which manages civil servants, saying the agency has no authority to order dismissal. The case remains active.
Niraji Chokushi Reports of contributions.
