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Concerns raised over personnel shortages in jobs ranging from food safety inspectors to Social Security offices
By Miriam Raftery
February 1, 2017 (San Diego) — After a public outcry, the Trump administration has issued some clarifications on his order freezing hiring of federal employees and added new exemptions.
The order initially exempted only the military and critical safety workers, such as air traffic controllers. It now exempts all federal uniformed personnel, such as the Coast Guard and Border Patrol. Hiring of Postal Service workers will be allowed, as well doctors and certain other medical personnel at Veterans Administration hospitals.
There are also new exemptions for certain seasonal workers, political appointees, certain internships and fellowships, some construction jobs, and limited others. The Office of Personnel Management may grant exceptions on a case by case basis to meet critical needs.
But that still leaves 22 agencies with shortages scrambling to determine how to cope with being unable to fill vacancies.
What could the hiring freeze and agencies left unable to fill vacancies mean for the public?
David Cox, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, had this to say.
“President Trump’s action will disrupt government programs and services that benefit everyone and actually increase taxpayer costs by forcing agencies to hire more expensive contractors to do work that civilian government employees are already doing for far less,” Cox told The Washington Post. “This hiring freeze will mean longer lines at Social Security offices, fewer workplace safety inspections, less oversight of environmental polluters, and greater risk to our nation’s food supply and clean water systems,” he said.
Potentially, you could have delays getting your tax returns from the IRS. National Parks may be short on staff to handle tasks from reservations to ranger-led programs. There could be shortfalls in staff to handle requests for unemployment or food stamps, process small business loans or disaster relief through FEMA.
It also impacts the large number of civil service workers employed by the Defense Department, including many in the San Diego area.
The hiring freeze will remain in place for 90 days until the Office of Management and Budget comes up with a plan to determine ways to scale back the size of the government’s work force.
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