CDC employees sort through chaotic ‘outbreak of firings’ followed by some reversals

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees and the union local that represents workers at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters are still trying to figure out what programs and offices were impacted by the Oct. 10 layoffs after they said around 700 CDC personnel were incorrectly dismissed. 

Officials from Health and Human Services Department, CDC’s parent agency, said in a Tuesday court filing that they sent reduction in force notices to approximately 1,760 department employees, nearly 780 of which were sent erroneously due to “data discrepancies and processing errors.” They’re in the process of canceling the incorrect notices. 

Based on reports from members, American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883 said that more than 1,300 CDC employees initially received RIF notices, about 700 of which were rescinded a day later. 

“We're a data agency. We're an outbreak-chasing agency, and this is an outbreak of firings, so we're doing our best to chase it,” said one union member who spoke during an AFGE Local 2883 press call Tuesday. Most of the individuals who spoke requested that their names not be used due to fears of retaliation. 

Speakers said that they’ve had to resort to tracking the layoffs because CDC has not provided the union with notice of which positions and units are impacted by RIFs. As part of its goal to terminate collective bargaining rights for two-thirds of the federal workforce, the Trump administration has sought to cancel the union contract with CDC under the auspices of national security.  

An employee whose layoff was reversed told Government Executive that they felt “numb” about the potential job loss after having to deal with an August shooting at CDC’s headquarters, the firing of Director Susan Monarez and the Trump administration’s threat to not provide government workers who are furloughed because of the ongoing shutdown with back pay when funding resumes seemingly in contravention of a 2019 law. 

“I think all of us pretty much feel like we've just been waiting to get fired at this point,” the employee said. “I wouldn't say it was a relief, but it was like, ‘Okay, the worst has happened. At least they can’t fire me now because they just fired me’ — and then they unfired me.”

These recent RIFs add to workforce reductions that have already taken place at CDC. Officials in June said that the agency had already shed nearly one-quarter of its staff, almost 3,000 employees, through voluntary separation incentives, firings and layoffs. 

The union now estimates that 4,300 CDC employees, a roughly 33% reduction, have either been separated from the agency or are in the process of being removed. 

A union member said during Tuesday’s call that the CDC programs where RIFs have not been rescinded are generally support offices focused on matters like human resources, IT and policy. Other departments have sought to consolidate administrative functions across their component agencies. 

In particular, speakers bemoaned the loss of library staff. 

“As a scientist that worked at CDC for years, the CDC library is essential for our work as scientists,” one individual said. “We use them every day. We log into the systems. They help us do literature searches. I don't know how this work can continue without the library and the librarians.” 

Several RIF’d employees spoke about how their impending layoffs will affect their financial stability. 

One who volunteers at food banks said they might soon come to depend on them for resources. Another is concerned that their daughter’s rental application will be rejected because they signed on as a guarantor. 

The Oct. 10 RIFs at CDC won’t become official for two months because agencies are typically required to provide notice to affected employees before layoffs. One impacted employee who is now on administrative leave, however, said that they’re worried about getting a job during this period because it would have to be cleared by CDC’s ethics office, which has apparently been downsized by RIFs. 

“You're telling me I can't go try to make some money to support my family while I'm not getting paid because I can't get the right approval to go do it,” the individual said. “So I'm stuck in a catch-22.”

In response to a request for comment about this possible issue, HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement that HHS has become a “bloated bureaucracy” and that officials are closing “wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda.”  

In total, around 4,200 federal workers were RIF’d last week. While the president has said that these layoffs are the result of the shutdown, RIFs have been occurring since before the lapse in funding. In fact, unions and advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit to block the layoffs, arguing they’re not allowable during a shutdown. 

One laid off employee who has more than two decades of experience at CDC, however, said during Tuesday’s press call that they’re unsure if they would go back if their RIF notice were overturned. 

“Eventually the current administration won't be there. But what are we going to be left with?” the individual said. “And do I have the energy to help pick up those pieces and see this agency through for another decade and try to get us back to the premier world health organization we were instead of the shell of what they've left us with?”

Eric Katz contributed to this report