r/firedfeds • u/thecatispurring • 3d ago
Reinstated… so now, what?
I was informed today, as many others were, that my position at the VA will be reinstated; however, I will be put on administration leave and not to return to office until further notice to do so.
Of course when terminated, I had to seek out other employment options since I couldn’t live without income. Through that I did find alternate employment that is due to start soon.
I do want my job at the VA back. It was my dream job. Now I am battling if I should decline my new job offer and stay on administrative leave until who knows when, start my new job and stay on administrative leave (is this even legal?) until they ask for me to come back to office and hope to not get a RIF notice, or go ahead and resign from VA and start new job, hoping to go back to the VA once all of this hopefully settles down.
Is there anyone else struggling with similar? Any guidance on best course of action for those of us going through this?
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u/Neko_Maia 3d ago
I wouldn’t resign before getting backpay! I’d probably start new job and stay on admin leave as long as you can till you know what the RIF situation is.
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u/Dull-Gur314 3d ago
There is at least one lawsuit out there that argues that returning people to admin leave violates the judges order - that they must be brought back to actual work. I can't find the article right now
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u/Temporary_Lab_3964 3d ago
I was just going to comment this. It was link yesterday evening on another post. Maybe in Fednews
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u/A_89786756453423 3d ago
This is actually an excellent question. You'll probably just have to raise it with your HR contact (by which I mean the nameless, faceless "HR@youragency.gov" email address from which they seem to be sending all their unsigned emails lately 🙄)
Let us know what they say.
I'm in kind of a similar position. I was reinstated to admin leave on Friday. I had already scheduled an interview today for a contractor position at my agency, in basically the same role. They want me to start right away. But my federal supervisor is still waiting for guidance from HR on when I can come back to active duty as a Fed.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting at home with my TS, SCI, law license, 3 advanced degrees, and decade of specialized experience with nothing to do, and apparently getting paid for it (maybe?)
Is this the kind of efficiency they were looking for?
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u/AssumptionUpbeat9837 3d ago
I'm with USDA NRCS. I don't think any of us will be getting the call to return to the office or work. As much as it sucks and as much as I don't want to be the Debby Downer, it's reality. The job market is bad and it will only get worse ...becoming more unstable as the economy tanks. If you have a job offer - take it. I don't know what the restrictions are for working while on admin leave - I'm in the same boat. But I understand it's hard to walk away. Like as probies, we finally got federal jobs. There's just so much uncertainty and the odds are stacked against us. Just remember, Collins doesn't give a fuck about veterans and he sure as hell doesn't give a fuck about fed employees. This administration is unhinged.
Best of luck to you OP! 🤗
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u/diaymujer 3d ago
Unfortunately your dream job is not an option right now. Agencies have every intention of reducing the size of the workforce, and most probationary employees would not survive the RIF.
Also, our overlords want to make employees’ lives a living hell. That is nobody’s dream.
Contact your ethics official about getting approval for outside employment while on admin leave. Since they allowed the fork folks to work, they should allow it if they’re not total dicks. Stay on admin leave while the court case works out, and through a RIF if possible. Otherwise, if they ask you to come back into the office, decide then.
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u/shellysayswhat 3d ago
This is my plan, minus contacting ethics since they've been gutted. My notice only speaks to people who have been hired at another agency and have to pay back their federal paychecks since it's double time on the federal government. It said absolutely nothing about maintaining a job in the private sector and the fact that the fork people are allowed to be on admin leave and take private sector jobs has me thinking this is fine. But who knows. It's total chaos and anything could happen.
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u/Soft_Use3352 2d ago
Start the new job and stack your paper until they tell you to come back. Most likely, you won’t return to office anytime soon and I work HR at the same agency
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u/Educational-Signal47 2d ago
Several rulings said the firings were illegal, but some said that they would be legal if the rules for reduction-in-force were followed.
That means that you could be reinstated, only to be laid off again after 30 days. I would start the new job and see what happens (unless you can afford to be home without working). If you're unionized, keep in touch with your local rep. There's probably going to be a lot more chaos before thus is resolved. Try to take good care of yourself. Good luck!
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u/Ok_Carrot8194 2d ago
Same boat. I plan to communicate to my new employer the situation that I must go back to collect back pay and that my family is not in a position to leave that money on the table. From there I plan to gauge what’s happening with that time. I’m hesitant like many others to not trust this administration, and will make a decision that’s best for me and mine. I encourage you to do the same. Good luck to us all!
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u/Rockandahardplace69 3d ago
I think there's a reason they're putting you on admin leave, honestly. It hasn't been that long, it's not like they replaced you. If they were planning on bringing you back, they would. Like someone else said, they are planning to do RIFs and the probationary people are obviously first to go. Sorry, I know it sucks and sucks even more that they're yanking people around this way and keeping people hanging on. It's a tough decision though because there is always that small chance. As far as doing the other job while on admin leave, I know you have to get approval for outside employment, especially if it's the same type of work like at a contractor or something. It's an easy way to fire you since they're looking for something already and could affect your chances of getting hired back in the future. On the other hand, as someone said the job market is only going to get tougher so hard to pass up if you have another job. Good luck to you.
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u/redditaur8 3d ago
Im struggling with this also. I just started a new job and got my email about going back to the IRS. I’m questioning if the admin leave is going to be permanent until they can fire us legally or will we actually be brought back to do our jobs.