Federal agencies are under a Thursday deadline to turn over plans to the Office of Personnel Management on how they plan to reduce the size of their respective agencies, including through reductions in workforce. NBC 5 Investigates’ Bennett Haeberle reports.
Federal agencies are under a Thursday deadline to turn over plans to the Office of Personnel Management on how they plan to reduce the size of their respective agencies, including through reductions in workforce.
A February memo from OPM directed that agencies had until March 13 to turn over their proposals as part of "Phase 1" of President Donald Trump's plan to reduce the size of the federal government and its employees.
The memo provided guidance on how agencies could achieve their reduction plans, including through the use of layoffs, attrition, the reduction of real property - like government buildings - and determining whether parts of the agencies themselves could be eliminated.
Just last week, NBC 5 Investigates spoke with Nancy Segal, who spent a combined 50 years working for - and later with - the federal government as a contractor.
Segal's executive training programs that helped top level government employees ascend to the highest areas of government were among recent cuts. She says she was notified by her contacts from two separate federal agencies that contracts she held with them were being cancelled.
She contends there are efficiencies that could be enacted within the federal government, but she questions the recent methods that have been used.
"I do think there are efficiencies to be had; there's cost savings to be identified and implemented, but it needs to be planned, it needs to be strategic, and it needs to be smart."
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"And I would add," Segal said, "I believe that it's important to do it the right way so that what happens sticks, because right now, when we're just drinking from the fire hose, mistakes are being made."
Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled Thursday that thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly terminated last month must be re-instated. The judge did note that the federal government can conduct reductions in workforce but that they need to be conducted in a way that complies with the law.
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NBC 5 Investigates also spoke to Beth Shrader, one of the thousands of probation federal workers who was recently terminated. She told us she loved her job with the National Parks Service, but since being terminated, she's already applied to – and will likely soon begin – a new job in the private sector.
She told us she was happy to learn about the judge's ruling Thursday but still has mixed emotions.
"I am very conflicted about it," Shrader said. "It is a job that I loved. I was great at. I would love to work for the National Parks Service. But right now, it’s not a good environment. The people still there are left without all the tools they need to do their job."
Segal has noted that even job re-instatements issued through court rulings can be appealed, making it more challenging to know which jobs cuts will stick and from where.
