


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinstated 180 probationary employees weeks after they were fired as part of the Department of Government Efficiency‘s efforts to reduce the federal workforce.
The order came less than a week after a federal judge in California ruled that an Office of Personnel Management directive calling on executive agencies to fire masses of probationary employees was unlawful.
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The fired CDC employees were alerted of their reinstatement via an email Tuesday with the subject line, “Read this e-mail immediately,” according to the Associated Press. The message said employees should return to work on Wednesday, and their firing last month was revoked “after further review and consideration.”
“You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” the email said. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.”
The restoration of employment to the Atlanta-based agency was praised by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in a Wednesday statement, in which he called for more fired employees to be reinstated.
“Today’s announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country’s public health and national security will continue to be at risk,” Warnock said.
The reversal on job terminations at the CDC came the same week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was ordered to temporarily reinstate thousands of probationary employees. The USDA order came at the request of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and reinstated the employees for 45 days as the office investigated the firings.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO FIRE 80,000 EMPLOYEES FROM VETERANS AFFAIRS
The mass firings across the federal bureaucracy have been met with backlash and lawsuits, largely from unions. Some efforts to reinstate laid-off or fired employees were successful, while others have not prevailed in the courts.
Despite some legal setbacks, the Trump administration has continued to push for cuts to various federal agencies. The Department of Veterans Affairs outlined a plan to fire 80,000 employees by the summer as part of DOGE cuts.