This post first appeared on Government Executive. Read the original article.
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More federal employees are receiving warnings they could soon be fired as the Trump administration ratchets up its efforts to drive civil servants out of government, with the latest push again targeting recent hires.
Emails went out this week to Agriculture Department employees currently on their probationary period, according to several sources aware of them, alerting the workers—who can typically be fired quickly and without much recourse—of their status. The communication follows a directive from the Office of Personnel Management, issued shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, requesting lists of all employees on their probationary periods.
It also follows similar emails sent to recent hires at the Environmental Protection Agency, which Government Executive first reported last week.
USDA told the impacted employees it had submitted its list of probationers to OPM and that the employees receiving the email were included on it. The emails, according to one individual in discussions with several employees who received them, were meant to serve as notifications “that their positions are being considered for termination.”
“At this time, we do not have any further information to provide regarding next steps,” the department said. “As more information becomes available, we will continue to communicate with you. Thank you for your work supporting USDA’s mission.”
The email was not quite as ominous as the one EPA sent to impacted employees last week, which reminded recipients the agency “has the right to immediately terminate you” and that in such an instance “your employment is ended immediately.” Marie Owens Powell, who represents EPA employees through the American Federation of Government Employees, told reporters last week that just through her union she knew of 1,100 workers who received the email. The number is likely far greater at USDA, which employs more than 90,000 staff compared to just 16,000 at EPA. The department averaged around 20,000 hires per year under the Biden administration, per government data.
The new set of emails comes as the Trump administration has publicly broadcast its intention to downsize the federal workforce and is this week encouraging employees to accept its “deferred resignation” offers. In some cases across government, agencies are asking probationary employees to explain their backgrounds and justify their roles.
Employees in their probationary periods can be fired without appeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board, though agencies must still provide recent hires with a reason for their removal based on performance or conduct.
A source familiar with the inner workings of OPM speculated three possible reasons the agency would want to gather the lists of probationers: it could be looking to eradicate certain roles, it could be searching for employees with affiliations that do not align with the administration’s interests or it could be aiming to fire all of them en masse.
Exactly who agencies are including on their lists has varied. Employees at several agencies throughout government have told Government Executive they have been added to the probationary period inventory even though they had served for more than a decade in government. They had recently started new roles and were therefore added to the probationary lists, they said.
Health care employees at the Veterans Affairs Department who are hired under Title 38 of the U.S. Code serve two-year probationary periods, leaving a wider swath of that workforce vulnerable to rapid firings. Newly confirmed VA Secretary Doug Collins has vowed to quickly fire more poorly performing employees. Federal workers serving in excepted service roles also remain in probationary status for two years.
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