Fired Federal Workers Plan Appeals and Lawsuits Against Terminations

Groups of fired federal workers are planning to appeal their terminations and are discussing lawsuits.

Melanie Mattox Green's most recent performance review in October lauded her "incredible" self-initiative, "superior quality" work, and efforts to promote "efficiencies" on her team.

She was fired last week based on her performance, along with thousands of other federal probationary workers.

"It's a low blow, and it's completely baseless," the former US Forest Service employee told Business Insider, adding, "If these terminations were truly about performance, then why were thousands of well-reviewed employees let go?"

Thomas Wartenberg is another US Forest Service worker terminated last week. His notice stated: "The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest."

"It's a real slap in the face to say it's for performance reasons," Wartenberg, who said he received positive performance reviews during his year-plus tenure at the agency, told BI.

Wartenberg, along with some other fired federal workers who BI spoke to, are planning to fight their terminations through an appeals process, and some of them said they are seeking to join potential lawsuits on behalf of fired federal workers.

BI has spoken to dozens of workers over the past few weeks, including some who voted for President Donald Trump, and they overwhelmingly said they disagree with his treatment of the federal workforce.

"People are pretty fired up about it," Wartenberg said, adding that workers are further fueled by the fact that it's the Trump administration -- and not individual agency supervisors -- that are spearheading the terminations. "It's not like our forest service leadership is screwing us over. So I think that gives us more of a sense of, 'We're going to fight this.'

The termination notices that BI reviewed said that employees can appeal their firings "only if you feel this action was based on discrimination of partisan political activity or marital status."

A USDA worker said they'll try the appeals process, but they and many former coworkers they've spoken with are more hopeful that litigation will restore their jobs. They requested anonymity to speak freely without fear of professional repercussions.

"Besides just being really sad by the whole thing, I have to find work, so that is what I am focused on," the worker said. "I hope I get a call back eventually saying, 'come on back,' but I can't wait for it."

The worker said that they frequently received positive feedback from supervisors, but they haven't been at the USDA long enough to receive the performance metrics that the termination letter cited.

"I'd like to go back," the worker said. "It was still one of the best jobs I ever had."

The firings follow a Trump administration memo in early February asking government agencies to identify their lowest-performing employees. So far, firings have mostly targeted probationary employees, who have fewer protections than longer-term employees.

Michael Fallings, a partner at law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, said he believes the administration is citing performance because, while it isn't required to give advanced notice to terminate probationary workers, it is required to provide a reason.

"Those reasons have to be grounded in performance or conduct," Fallings said. "And so the administration, it appears, is trying to say that their reason for terminating these employees is performance."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

David Rice, a federal worker who was terminated from the Department of Energy after serving in the Army for 25 years, isn't counting on going back. He worked with scientists to conduct research in foreign countries, including efforts to help atomic bomb survivors in Japan. He said that while he anticipated the firings were coming, he didn't take Trump's deferred resignation offer because he loved his job and resigning would guarantee he would lose it.

"I'm very passionate about what I do for a living, and I really enjoy it," Rice said. "I think I'm good at it, so I knew that if I took that deferred resignation, I would no longer be able to do that opportunity. I kind of rolled the dice, knowing that this could happen."

Rice said he's working with his union and reached out to a few law firms to examine his options. He doesn't want to rush through the appeals process until he gets further guidance.

"If I had done something wrong, if my performance was bad, then I probably thought I deserved to be fired," Rice said. "All of those are valid reasons, but the only thing I did wrong is I started work less than a year ago."

BI previously spoke to some federal workers who voted for Trump, and they said that while they disagreed with the target on federal workers, they supported the president's overall aim to reduce waste.

"This is the reason why people voted for Trump," one worker said. "Because what is the government doing? Why aren't they forthcoming? Why? People want answers."

The National Treasury Employees Union filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally firing federal workers en masse, and the American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley vowed in a statement to "fight these firings every step of the way."

A Department of Energy employee who got their termination letter last week said that, as a single parent, they have no choice but to look for work in the private sector.

"I have to fight this, but I also have to continue looking for another opportunity," the DOE worker said. "It's so maddening."

Madison Hoff contributed reporting to this story.