CNN
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A few days after a federal judge in Maryland decided that probationary workers had to be temporarily restored, several federal agencies told staff they were complying with the decision, but placed the employees on paid administrative leave.
Workers from the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Food and Drug Administration have received emails saying that they are revived and placed on administrative leave, among other agencies.
Separately, at least one USDA employee who was fired was resurrected late last week and was initially notified that he would be placed on paid administrative leave. The agency told staff they are developing a step-by-step plan to get them back into duties. This action stems from previous instructions by the Merit Systems Protection Board. It said nearly 6,000 probation workers who lost their jobs in mid-February must be revived for at least 45 days.
The Federal Aviation Administration informed workers that they would take administrative leave until Wednesday, and supervisors were informed that they would reach out to resume their duties. They will receive the repayment and the cancellation will be removed from the personnel records.
“They will be able to return to important work on behalf of the American flying masses,” said David Spero, the national president of professional aviation safety experts who represent FAA employees.
CNN displays emails from multiple agents.
Most institutions specified that workers receive retroactive salary from the end date. The email to an IRS employee did not mention Backpay, but another email sent to the agency manager said the probation worker would receive it.
As part of an effort to reduce the federal workforce, the Trump administration has rejected tens of thousands of probation workers who normally only had one or two years of employment. The MSPB and two federal judges issued various orders and sentences regarding their reinstatement, at least temporarily.
Last week, the second federal judge who ordered the recovery of probation workers at certain agencies asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to explain to the court why officials are taking administrative leave.
“This is not permitted by the provisional injunction because the provisional injunction will not restore services that are intended to be restored,” the judge wrote simply.
Workers interviewed by CNN said they were happy that they were resurrected and paid again, but they expressed their dissatisfaction that they could not return to their work. Many, if not all, people had to return work laptops and phones, paused work emails and were told not to go to the office.
“I’m ready and ready to go. I don’t like getting paid to not do the job,” a USDA probation worker told CNN. “All the scams, waste, abuse are hilarious now because they waste money so they don’t do our job on us all.”
The interviewed employees said they were in a retention pattern. The two said they applied for many jobs but were not interviewed.
Others are wary that courts will ultimately control their support for the Trump administration, or that the drastic cuts ongoing RIF across the federal government could lead to losing their jobs anyway.
Andy Hazelton, a NOAA hurricane hunter fired as a probation employee, told CNN he left “a lot more questions than answers” in a letter he received.
Hazelton said he was relieved he would recover his wages, but the letter said he could re-fire anytime depending on how the trial proceeds.
“We haven’t returned to work yet, but it’s a shame,” he told CNN. “It’s like it’s at the mercy of the court system right now. It’s definitely a few first relief, but there’s a lot of uncertainty.”
At the same time, probation employees have heard from their previous colleagues that work is piling up.
“They burn candles at both ends and burn on the mysterious third end. I’m in my fifth week of paid leave,” said the FDA probation worker who first took a month of administrative leave and is now extended. “I want to go back to work.”
Many enforcers and lawyers in the EPA’s enforcement group were first fired and are now on vacation, said Nicole Cantello, chairman of the local 704 of the U.S. Government Employees Council 238, representing EPA workers in Michigan and the Midwest. Their work focuses on clean air laws, clean water laws and other laws.
“Most of these inspectors do about 10 tests a year. If they’re on vacation, they’re not tested,” she said. “If there is little enforcement, industrial polluters will not be checked.”
The same applies to USDA. There, the local president of the union told CNN that losing probation workers disrupts the team’s ability to provide services to the public.
The National Financial Employees Union, which represents IRS workers, called the administration’s actions “confusing” and “disrespectful.”
“Paid administrative leave will take agents of much-needed staffing during tax return season, but these abused employees can continue to receive their salaries and benefits as the legal battle continues,” the NTEU said.
However, not all laid-off probation employees are keen to return to the agency. One IRS worker on the audit team said that the office has become so toxic and abusive under the Trump administration that the next step must be carefully considered.
“Most of me say this is not feasible. I can’t go back to work under these conditions,” the certified public accountant told CNN. “It was almost inhumane. You knew something was coming down, and there was a complete information vacuum.”
This story has been updated with additional reports.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this story.
