Fired federal workers face choices now that a judge wants them rehired

Sam Peterson is one of thousands of fired federal workers who was offered his job back under a judge’s order, but he didn’t jump at the chance to go back to his park ranger position at Washington state’s Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

Instead, he quickly turned it down, opting to move with his wife to start a career outside the government at an Oregon museum.

“We signed a lease Monday and who knows what the next few months would bring if I were to return to federal employment,” said Peterson, 26.

Whether to return to the federal workforce is a decision confronting thousands of fired employees after two judges this month found legal problems with how President Donald Trump is carrying out a dramatic downsizing of the U.S. government. One ruling by a California federal judge would reinstate 16,000 probationary employees.

On Monday, the Trump administration sought to stop giving fired workers any choice by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the rehiring orders. It was not clear how quickly the nation's high court could rule on the emergency appeal, which argued that U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, went beyond his legal authority.

Although it is unknown how many federal workers are taking up the offers to return to work, some employees have already decided to move on, fearing more reductions down the road.

Others who were asked to return were immediately put on administrative leave, with full pay and benefits, or offered early retirement. For those who chose to return, some say the decision came down to their dedication to the work and a belief that what they do is important.

Eric Anderson, 48, got word last week that he can return to his position as a biological science technician at the Indiana Dunes National Park. He said he’s excited to go back on Tuesday, where he'll lead a crew conducting prescribed burns to limit wildland fire impacts, but is concerned about the uncertainty.

“I’ve heard that some people’s positions have changed from doing what they normally do to doing something completely weird and different,” Anderson said. “It’ll be interesting going back and seeing if stuff still changes by the day.”

Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, has not disclosed how many probationary workers were cut, how many were reinstated or how many rehired workers were placed on leave.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked the Government Accountability Office to seek answers to those questions and to study the impacts of the firings, arguing that removing people from critical areas of government — such as air travel, wildland firefighting, infectious disease control, nuclear security and veterans' health care — has put the county's health and safety at risk. In a letter to Warren and other Democratic senators, the federal office said it accepted their request to review the firings.

One agency, the National Park Service, was authorized to rehire 1,000 workers, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. The group celebrated the reversal but criticized the process.

“This chaotic whiplash is no way to manage the Park Service, especially as they are welcoming millions of visitors right now," said association president and CEO Theresa Pierno. “This administration needs to stop playing games with the future of our national parks.”

Brian Gibbs, who was fired from his environmental educator job at the Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa in February, returned to work Monday. In a widely shared Facebook post, Gibbs said he's committed to serving the American public “to the best of my abilities as long as I am authorized to" and leading field trips at the park.

Some Department of Interior workers were given their jobs back only to be offered an early retirement package, according to a letter reviewed by The Associated Press.

Other returning workers were placed on administrative leave as the Trump administration appeals the court rulings on mass firings. That means some workers were fired as part of an effort to eliminate government waste only to be rehired and paid, at least for a time, to not work.

Sydney Smith, 28, was a probationary employee with the Forest Service who was on a temporary assignment to the Library of Congress when she was terminated. She was rehired but was immediately placed on administrative leave with backpay. Smith said she’s ready to get back to work and hopes others get back too.

“It’s not clear at what point they would have me return to work," she said. "So I am being paid but not working. That feels inefficient.”

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Associated Press reporter Gary Fields contributed from Washington, D.C.