FDA begins to rescind firings, calls some probationary staff back to work

By Nyah Phengsitthy

  The FDA late Friday started reversing termination notices for some employees that were laid off, informing workers to return to work after mass firings a week ago. 

The employees, who are considered probationary, started receiving calls Friday evening and Saturday morning from the Food and Drug Administration’s human resources department, according to three people familiar with the calls that were granted anonymity to speak freely. The agency informed the employees that they will receive computer and network access by Monday.

 

Some of the calls were made to former employees in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the office responsible for overseeing medical devices and digital health products. The center was reportedly hit hard with layoffs, which immediately faced push back from the device industry.

 

 

It’s unclear how many terminations will be reversed as some FDA employees are required to return to the office starting Monday. The FDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to request for comment.

 

The call backs come after thousands of federal employees were terminated from their jobs in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to shrink the federal workforce.

 

Many of the layoffs across the government began shortly after the order, affecting health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and other areas across HHS.

 

The FDA’s termination notices targeted workers under a probationary period and said the employee was “not fit for continued employment” because their “ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs,” according to the email from acting chief human capital officer Jeffery Anoka that was obtained by Bloomberg Law.

 

The emails told employees they will be placed on administrative leave and receive four weeks of pay.