Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—Mass firings at federal agencies over the weekend, (Feb 18, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

“There is nothing ‘efficient’ about indiscriminately firing thousands upon thousands of workers in red and blue states whose work is badly needed.”

Following last week’s executive order and the decision of a federal district court in Massachusetts, which ruled against a group of unions, including AFGE, that sought to restrain OPM from enforcing the “Fork in the Road” or “Fork Directive” deadline, President Trump’s agency heads and DOGE set about implementing the termination of thousands of additional probationary federal employees at the end of last week and over the weekend. According to some reports, over 75,000 employees had already resigned under the Fork Directive.

Widespread terminations. According to various news reports, as well as a list provided by Senator Patty Murray, the following agencies, potentially among others, have experienced terminations in recent days:

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• Department of Agriculture, including U.S. Forest Service, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Rural Development, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service

• Department of Education

• Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration

• Department of Health and Human Services, including the CDC and NIH

• Department of Homeland Security

• Department of the Interior, including the National Park Service

• Department of Veterans Affairs

• Environmental Protection Agency

• Federal Aviation Administration

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• General Services Administration

• Indian Health Service

• Internal Revenue Service

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

• Office of Personnel Management

• Small Business Administration

• U.S. Forest Service

• USAID

FAA layoffs resound. With news of the additional FAA job losses, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg took to social media to ask, “The flying public needs answers. How many FAA personnel were just fired? What positions? And why?”

Not ‘nameless, faceless bureaucrats.’ “Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address, not an official.gov email address,” said David Spero, the National President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO. “Messages began arriving after 7 pm ET on February 14 and continued late into the night. It is possible that others will be notified over the weekend or literally barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, February 18.”

“These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats,” Spero continued. “They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities. Many military veterans are among them. It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans.”

Deadly aircraft accidents. Spero also added: “This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin. This decision did not consider the staffing needs of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing. Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs. To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety. And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.”

Indeed, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed that 400 FAA employees were let go and that they were all probationary, although he contends that none were air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), meanwhile, has stated that it “will analyze the effect of these terminations on aviation safety, and the national airspace system.” It also adds that there is “no evidence that these firings were about poor performance.”

Congress begins to respond. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, put together a “non-comprehensive” yet elucidating list of agencies impacted and contends that the layoffs are already causing harm. In a statement, she explained:

“There is nothing ‘efficient’ about indiscriminately firing thousands upon thousands of workers in red and blue states whose work is badly needed.

“We are talking about safety engineers at the Hanford nuclear cleanup site, VA doctors and nurses, utility line workers in my home state, CDC health experts who investigate disease outbreaks, and so many others.

“Two billionaires who have zero concept of what the federal workforce does are breaking the American government—decimating essential services and leaving all of us worse off.

“The lives upended by these callous firings will not just be the federal workers who lose their jobs, but the millions of Americans who rely on services these employees provide: health care, food safety, housing, lifesaving research, and so much else.

“Let’s be clear that these sweeping layoffs do not address fraud or waste. These firings are totally arbitrary–pushing out high performers and the promising next generation of our federal workforce who won’t be easily replaced.

“The scale and scope of Trump and Elon’s purge will set our country back decades, but we are not powerless in this moment. It is incumbent on every one of us to speak out for a government that works for middle-class families and working people—not just billionaires who will never need to call about their Social Security benefits or file a disability claim at VA.”

On Friday, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a statement in response to reports of mass firings:

“When you see government as your opportunity to turn a profit, you will never serve the public good. This mindless approach to slashing the federal workforce and gutting vital programs and protections will make Trump's government incapable of delivering for the American people.

“This is the Project 2025 blueprint the GOP tried to hide from voters, and it will cause devastating cuts in services that will hurt millions of Americans and scar our communities now and for years to come. These are not faceless bureaucrats—they are the public servants that inspect your food, provide care to our veterans, and make sure you get your social security benefits.”

Fired workers already taking action. On Friday, a group of probationary employees across nine federal agencies brought a complaint before the Office of Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger (who was recently reinstated to his own position by a federal court and whose lawsuit against the Trump Administration is already being placed before the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court). According to Democracy Forward, which, along with a law firm, represents the complainants, this complaint is “the first known of its kind.”

“The Administration’s mass termination of employees in their first or second year on the job is an unprecedented and grossly unfair circumvention of the merit principles upon which our civil service is based,” said Michelle Bercovici, a partner with the Alden Law Group, who joined with Democracy Forward in filing the complaint.” These hard-working employees should have the opportunity to let their work speak for itself.”

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