For several Nevadans caught in the workforce purge the legal ruling is just the latest development in a chaotic administration that has burned them again and again. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Since being fired last month amid efforts to slash the federal workforce, aquatic ecologist Riley Rackliffe has been hopeful about getting his job back at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Rackliffe’s hopes were bolstered Thursday when two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal workers abruptly fired across more than a dozen agencies — an action courts say violated laws governing the reduction of federal workers.
“I’m certainly hopeful that I will actually get reinstated,” Rackliffe said. “If they rehired me tomorrow, I would jump right back in.”
But for several Nevadans caught in the workforce purge the legal ruling is just the latest development in a chaotic administration that has burned them again and again.
“Maybe I’ll get reinstated and fired a month later,” Rackliffe said. “I’ve got job interviews lined up because I’ve been job hunting, and I’m not sure I would cancel those.”
Rackliffe was among at least 13 federal workers fired from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Valentines Day.
Federal workers’ skepticism isn’t without warrant.
The Trump administration swiftly appealed the first ruling by a California district judge, which ordered the immediate rehiring of all probationary federal workers fired from the Defense, Treasury, Energy, Interior, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the ruling an “absurd and unconstitutional” attempt to encroach on the president’s power to hire and fire employees, in a statement Thursday.
A second wave of mass firings are also expected in the coming weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration told agencies to submit plans for “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13 in an effort to cull more federal workers.
Fired probationary federal workers in Nevada who spoke to the Nevada Current said they had not received any communication or indication from their department heads as of Friday that they would be immediately rehired.
Federal employees in Nevada said they are grateful for Thursday’s rulings, and hope their departments are quickly put back together, but many of them aren’t counting on it.
“It’s good that it’s a win in our favor, but even though the judge made that decision, how much of it will be enforced?” said Mark Wagstaff, a disabled veteran who was fired from his job as an administrative assistant at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center.
“We already know the next stage in the administration is to do the reductions in force plans across the agencies as a whole. So who’s to say that these jobs might be reinstated, only to be cut back again?” Wagstaff said, adding that he may have to consider more stable job offers if he’s asked to return.
Federal probationary workers typically have less than a year in their roles, and do not have the same job protections as those who have been in their roles for longer. All federal workers start new roles on a probationary status, including workers who were recently promoted or who changed departments after years of service.
The sweeping cuts are part of a push by Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to reduce the federal workforce in an effort to radically remake the federal bureaucracy. The task has largely been left to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Some federal workers in Nevada who have received more promising signs that they could get their jobs back are reluctant to accept any job offers after weeks of poor and confusing communication.
After a federal board ordered the Department of Agriculture to reinstate more than 5,600 workers for at least 45 days, the agency released a press release Wednesday stating that fired probationary workers would start receiving back pay while the agency develops a plan to reinstate them.
Jim Fogelberg, a disabled veteran and Fernley resident who was fired from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, only found out about the order after a coworker forwarded him the press release in an email. Fogelberg was fired so abruptly in February his equipment shut down while he was still talking to his supervisor, and is now in a storage bin in his garage.
“I still have nothing saying, ‘Jim, come back now’,” Fogelberg said. “It’s very, very unclear and very frustrating.”
“I’m not banking on going back to USDA and having a job. I don’t trust them at this point,” he continued.
After living in Nevada for 10 years, Fogelberg said there’s a possibility he may have to leave the state if he doesn’t land a job where he can work from his home in Fernley.
Nevada’s federal workers perform crucial jobs, many of which are highly-specialized roles that can’t be easily replaced or picked up by remaining employees. Those roles may go unfilled if fired federal workers don’t return.
Jacob Zortman, an agricultural engineer with the USDA living in Reno, said in no uncertain terms that he would not return to the federal agency despite the announced plan to reinstate fired workers.
“Absolutely not,” Zortman said, adding that he has already scheduled a move back to his home state of Kansas for a state job.
“There isn’t much stability or hope in returning or staying. It’s hard to be comfortable this far away from anyone and everything I know when there’s no stability,” Zortman said.
After repeated failed attempts to get a response from the agency, Zortman said he had to cut his losses and move on. Before the Trump administration’s indiscriminate mass terminations Zortman said he was eager to fill the critical need for engineers in the federal workforce.
“But considering how chaotic and unstable it is, and no clear guidance on the future? Yeah, no, I’m not interested in trying again,” Zortman said.
‘At least be honest about why you’re firing us’
There is no official estimate of the number of federal workers fired in Nevada following the Trump administration’s push to slash the federal workforce by firing probationary workers, but federal workforce data hints that it could be more than a thousand.
In his ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the Office of Personnel Management — the central human resources office for the federal government — broke the law when it ordered federal agencies to terminate thousands of probationary employees.
The judge also criticized the Trump administration for citing poor performance in termination letters to employees who only ever received positive performance reviews.
“It is sad, a sad day, when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” he said. “That should not have been done in our country.”
Rackliffe, the aquatic ecologist, said the judge’s comments brought him some peace of mind, if not full confidence he will get his job back in the immediate future.
“It’s kind of vindication,” Rackliffe said. “At least be honest about why you’re firing us… at least get the record straight.”
There’s “a high probability” fired federal workers will look for work outside the federal government given their recent treatment and the uncertainty created by constant reductions and funding cuts, Rackliffe said.
But for Rackliffe working for the National Park Service has always been a dream job. The National Park Service is a reflection of what good government can accomplish, said Rackliffe.
“Working for the Park Service feels like making an America that everyone can participate in. It feels like a great way to be part of the best things about America: the community, the people,” Rackliffe said.
“Even if in the worst case scenario, they rehire me and a month later they fire me again, I think it would still be worth it,” he continued.