The haphazard slash-and-burn approach to firing federal workers by Donald Trump's administration in a supposed attempt to save money will instead lead to lawsuits and financial penalties taxpayers will be on the hook for, reports the Guardian.
With Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) indiscriminately firing employees with accusations of "poor performance" despite performance reviews that described the exact opposite, one labor attorney claimed a wave of lawsuits that will follow will be expensive.
According to attorney Suzanne Summerlin, "These firings they’re conducting without following the law will result in hundreds of thousands of former federal employees being owed back pay, plus interest, plus benefits, plus attorneys fees."
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“When the bill comes it will be monumental," she added.
That was supported by former Department of Interior official Jacob Malcom, who recently resigned from his post saying he didn't want to be a part of the Trump government.
"This is being done under the guise of ‘poor performance’ or ‘skills not aligned with needs’ but neither are true," he pointed out. “First, no evidence was provided that would suggest that poor performance; in fact, I know some of the individuals that were down my chain of supervision and know they were among the best performers."
According to the Guardian report, "One veteran federal worker who spoke to the Guardian had only been a few weeks away from passing her one-year probationary period to be hired permanently by the US Forest Service. Instead they received a termination notice citing poor performance. They had, in fact, received positive performance reviews, a copy of which they shared with the Guardian."
That former employee explained to the Guardian, "I would have been a permanent employee on March 10. I’ve lost my medical insurance. I have an incurable disease that I kind of need a doctor for. I won’t be able to pay those bills. I’m waiting for my eviction notice right now.”
Another fired employee who worked at HHS, stated, "“It’s not just new employees who were affected. Many people were longtime federal employees who had been recently promoted to supervisors, who are usually on probation when they are promoted. The termination letters’ claims that they are for ‘poor performance’ are false. Many federal employees scored ‘excellent’ or ‘achieved more than expected’ on their performance reviews and team members can attest to their excellent work and work ethic.”
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