Terminated federal workers in Oregon this week are receiving notices rescinding their firings but informing them that they are now on paid administrative leave until further notice.
The workers say they have also received back pay.
The latest developments come less than a week after two federal judges on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate fired employees from more than a dozen agencies. More than 24,000 workers are expected to be reinstated nationwide after the Trump administration, and billionaire Elon Musk, rolled out mass firings as part of a plan to shrink the federal workforce.
One of the two judges ordered the Trump administration to reinstate workers by 1 p.m. Monday. Some workers in Oregon began to receive notices rescinding their terminations on Monday and Tuesday.
Betty Odgers received a notice, dated Tuesday, indicating the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was rescinding her probationary termination from Feb. 24. The notice, which has the word “draft” on it, says the termination will be pulled from her record and that she will receive back pay.
But rather than go back to work, Odgers will be paid to stay home for now. According to the letter she received, she has been placed on paid administrative leave, which “is not a disciplinary action.”
“You are not to return to duty at this time,” the notice says. “You may be ordered to return to duty at any time while you are on administrative leave and required to return promptly to your official worksite or participate in other activities as directed by management.”
Odgers said she was thrilled her “wrongful” termination won’t be on her record, and said the fact that officials forgot to delete the word “draft” in her notice is on par with the Trump administration.
“This whole thing has been botched from the beginning,” she said. “I think a lot of this could have been avoided.”
Odgers, an Army veteran, said she worked as the sole employment coordinator in Oregon for the Veteran Readiness and Employment program under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The way the terminations and reinstatements have played out, she said, have been thoughtless and inconsiderate.
“It just has a cascading and negative effect,” she said.
Odgers believes the action is only a stopgap measure for the government to figure out how to get employees back to work, with many logistics that need to take place.
She also believes the ordeal isn’t over because the Trump administration is separately pursuing sweeping reductions-in-force plans for federal agencies later this year.
“I’m not concerned that I would be subjected to a RIF due to my particular role,” she said, “but that’s still on the table.”
Other workers are a more concerned about the expected job cuts.
Royce Daniels, who was terminated from his job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said he also has received backpay and believes he was reinstated this week, but that doesn’t bring him full relief.
“I’m concerned about the reduction in force,” he said, “and my job could potentially be at risk again.”
Other workers found out they were reinstated by reaching out to officials in Washington, D.C.
Joseph Mucklow, a Navy veteran who lost his job on Feb. 24 with the VA Roseburg Health Care System, said he had not heard a word from officials in Roseburg, so he emailed Tracey Therit, chief human capital officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Therit responded Tuesday by sending Mucklow a similar notice to the one Odgers received. His termination is being rescinded, he will receive back pay and will be placed on paid administrative leave until further notice.
“I have that message from Tracey which gives me some hope,” he said, “but I’m still wondering what the heck is going on with the Roseburg VA not contacting people.”
–Yesenia Amaro is an investigative reporter with a focus on social issues and communities of color. Do you have a news tip related to immigration, deportations or publicly funded programs designed to help immigrant Oregonians? Get in touch, 503-221-4395; yamaro@oregonian.com.
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