The next section of the federal workforce to face mass firings by the Trump administration could be health workers. White House aides are preparing an executive order to fire thousands of employees in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other agencies involved in health, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are to be told to cut some percentage of staff members. The White House said no order involving HHS is planned, and it's possible the plan could be dropped.
Agencies have been told by the Office of Personnel Management to provide lists of employees on their probationary periods whose roles are essential, as well as those whose roles are not. Fired probationers do not have the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, per Government Executive. The firing agency is still required to provide a reason for their dismissal based on performance or conduct. Staff members at several agencies have said they've been now added to probation lists, despite more than a decade of employment, because they've recently been put in different roles. In most cases, probation applies only to workers in their positions for less than a year, per the Journal.
In addition to the FDA and CDC, Health and Human Services includes the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Its more than 80,000 employees are responsible for such diverse jobs as researching cancer and tracing bird-flu outbreaks. People familiar with the administration's preparations said the idea is to issue the order after the buyout offer to employees expires. A judge paused the buyout plan Thursday and told the administration to extend the deadline. (More Trump administration stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
