Scores of firings have begun at federal agencies

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

Updated 1:50 PM EST, Thu February 13, 2025


CNN — Scores of firings have begun at federal agencies, with terminations of probationary employees underway at the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration, federal employees and union sources told CNN Wednesday. The firings mark the first from the Trump administration as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aim to dramatically shrink the federal workforce. Until now, federal employees across all government agencies had only been placed on paid administrative leave.

The move comes the same day as a federal judge allowed the administration’s deferred resignation program to proceed. About 77,000 employees have accepted the offer, which generally allows them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.

A form letter sent to Department of Education employees, obtained by CNN, informing them of their termination stated: “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.” At the Department of Education, the firings have impacted employees across the agency from the general counsel’s office, to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services that supports programs for children with disabilities, to the Federal Student Aid office, a union source told CNN.

The source said they have heard from dozens of employees who have been fired, but the full scope of the firings was not immediately clear. The American Federation of Government Employees represents about 160 Department of Education employees that fall under the probationary status.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/scores-of-firings-federal-agencies

[Initech]

1. He is overstepping his boundaries and going absolutely mad with power.

Fuck Trump and the people who voted for him.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. May drumpf and Musk burn in hell.

[Initech]

4. Plus Fox News, every AM radio station, every propaganda outlet, every megachurch.

And all of the brainwashed masses who voted for him. Hope Satan's got a special place reserved for all of these people.

[bluestarone]

6. After all whats going on in our countryn, i feel there is NO Heaven and NO Hell.

If we want our democracy WE are the only ones that can get it.

[Butterflylady]

14. Oh yes there is a hell........

And we're in it.

[Deminpenn]

3. You can't be fired without cause

If these employees have unsatisfactory performance reviews, that would be different.

[pimpbot]

7. not correct

They are focusing on employees within the first year probationary period. It is possible to terminate their employment within the first year.

Next up will be everyone else, but for tenured employees they will actually have to come up with some evidence. More likely they will attempt to relocate entire organizations to a locstion people dont want to move to, and force them out.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Not correct

If the employee can show the firing was for retaliation and/or discrimination, then they have a case to appeal. In some of these cases with the "DEI" nonsense, they could sue for discrimination as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 hasn't suddenly been repealed.

(I was a federal supervisor during my career before retiring)

[Deminpenn]

15. Iirc from

when I was hired for a career ladder position, you could be fired if you didn't perform satisfactorily while you were on the ladder to your final grade and series.

I'd think this action could only apply to new hires, not to employees with career status who were promoted into ladder positions.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. If the employee isn't performing, then yes, that is the point of the probationary period

And even then, supervisors have and will put the employee on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) and SHOULD BE "counseling" them through their training period.

But if an employee is meeting or exceeding the performance requirements, then hauling off and randomly firing, notably where an employee can show it was done for retaliatory or discriminatory purposes, is verboten, and the employee can file a case with the EEOC or MSPB (Merit System Protection Board), whichever agency's function applies.

The documentation that a supervisor needs to provide to remove a career employee is a whole other thing.

I know early in my career, one of my old supervisors had to go through a nightmarish marathon of documenting for not one, but eventually two "stalker" type employees who needed to be out of there (one who had been moved around from district office to district office as those offices had had enough but didn't want to go through the hassle of a separation). And even after they were removed, they were still harassing employees and the supervisor (calling the office, showing up at the worksite, etc.).

This administration is about to put this country in a recession, quick, fast, and in a hurry.

[Deminpenn]

20. There was one guy in our

office who was literally untrainable. As in your example, he was moved around from branch to branch with everyone else having to cover the work he should have been doing. One supervisor spent over a year documenting and trying to get the guy fired. Unfortunately this guy had a friend who was a big boss who protected him.

We had one guy who was hired, spent a day or two on the job, decided he hated it and went back to driving a pizza truck or something.

Maybe there should be a thread for these stories.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. LOL

I do recall a couple who lasted maybe a couple weeks or so and were gone. In one case it was someone who didn't want to divest of their extensive stock holdings for firms that were part of the agency's "regulated industry".

And yes, there will always be "the problem children" (I had a couple that I had to hand-hold).

[Snoopy 7]

19. Really

That's your reasoning? Jesus, why aren't you asking what are they doing with the MONEY? The money they are taking away from hard working people will be used to supply TAX BREAKS for the billionaires. The trump administration already has the plan. They just want the poor to pay for the billionaires break (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/4-ways-house-republicans-emerging-tax-package-would-put-billionaires-over-families/). Don't be half hearted, if your reasoning is just logical and not political, so please think and study about what you want to post. Don't forget: https://democrats.org/news/trumps-treasury-secretary-will-give-billionaires-another-round-of-tax-handouts/.

[slightlv]

11. The article stated they were probationary

that means, at least as far as I remember it, that you can be fired without specific cause. If you pass the probationary period, that's a bird of a different color. Prior to probation? It's akin more to "at will"....

[Allie2111016]

23. If I understand correctly . . .

If you are in a probationary period, you can be fired at will. (Source is my husband, who's a fed employee.)

[BumRushDaShow]

24. If the employee can prove the action was done as retaliation

and/or for discriminatory reasons (and not just race/gender but also disability), then they have a recourse through either the EEOC or the Merit System Protection Board.

(I was a federal supervisor during part of my career before retiring)

[Wicked Blue]

5. Will these people be able to collect unemployment?

If not, what the hell are they going to do about food, rent/mortgage, utilities and other necessities?

[bluestarone]

8. How can ANY court not see what these terrorist traitors are doing?

Turning their eyes away from our Democracy.

[hadEnuf]

10. If the courts won't do something, then the people will have to.

[PSPS]

13. This is how Luigis are born

[slightlv]

12. If anything presents itself as political on the face of it,

these firings are the cherry on top. How can you NOT see it's political... after all, he's stated that if you don't bow down and kiss the ring he'll get rid of you.

[underpants]

26. A court (not sure which) threw out a case saying the union didn't have standing

I’m not a lawyer but I don’t how that’s possible. I think it was the SEIU which, as I understand things, is there to represent their members.

[AncientOfDays]

16. Poaching employees

Their claim is they're cutting waste, but actually they're poaching employees. These government workers they are firing come pre-vetted, with knowledge and experience, The oligarchs will sell the services of these employees back to the government at a profit.

For decades we've been fed the lies that government is incompetent and wasteful , when the truth is that private enterprise simply can't compete - especially on quality.

[Deminpenn]

17. Probationay employees usually don't know much

This the time they're being trained in the job duties and how to do them. It takes a while to really learn the ins and outs no matter how easy a job might look to someone on the outside.

[AncientOfDays]

25. Probationary time issue

I understand that probation is lengthy - like 2 years. You can learn a lot in even 1 year.

[Deminpenn]

28. Probationary periods vary

For example if you are hired into a GS-5/7/9 career ladder position, it's 2 years. If you are hired into a GS-9/11 seriers, it's 1 year. I think if you''re just hired in a non-ladder position, then it's a year.

What you learn really depends on who is training you. I was very lucky to have had excellent colleagues who knew what they were doing and did it well, showing me the ropes. But even with that, I wasn't prepared when I was put into a position managing a program while still a trainee.

[Allie2111016]

22. My husband works for the feds . . .

My husband, thank goodness, is close to retirement; not a probationary employee. I am concerned that the powers that be might find a reason to get rid of him and/or find an excuse to not give him his retirement benefits.

He did ask what would happen to his retirement if he took the federal "buyout" and was told, you lose it. One of the benefits we'd lose would be our health insurance, and we both need it.

[underpants]

27. They are dumping all the probationary period staff across Departments

and there is a hiring freeze. Recruitment and retention are necessary parts of any sized operation. At least normally.

[Deminpenn]

29. FEDWEEK is an excellent source of accurate and detailed info

about the layoffs, probationary periods and prospective RIFs.

This is their article about the layoffs:

https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/widespread-layoffs-of-probationary-employees-begin/