The Daily Populous Thursday March 6th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by GentleGerbil

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NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work.

Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees.

A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, “Read this e-mail immediately.” It said that “after further review and consideration,” a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. “You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it said. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.”

About 180 people received reinstatement emails, according to two federal health officials who were briefed on the tally but were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It’s not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it’s also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies.

A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) Share Share Copy Link copied

The CDC is the latest federal agency trying to coax back workers soon after they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting purge. Similar reversals have been made among employees responsible for medical device oversight, food safety, bird flu response, nuclear weapons and national parks.

The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the job cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees.

Last month, Trump administration officials told the CDC that nearly 1,300 of the agency’s probationary employees would be let go. That tally quickly changed, as the number who actually got termination notices turned out to be 700 to 750.

With 180 more people now being told they can return, the actual number of CDC employees terminated so far would seem to stand somewhere around 550. But federal health officials haven’t confirmed any specifics.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged “ radical transparency ” at the department, but HHS officials have not provided detail about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. An agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, previously told the AP only that CDC had more full-time employees after the job cuts than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those who received reinstatement emails included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs — a two-year training that prepares recent graduates to enter the public health workforce through field experience and a laboratory program that brings in doctorate-holding professionals.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock celebrated the reinstatements, but said it’s not enough.

“Today’s announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country’s public health and national security will continue to be at risk,” Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday.

Contacting The Associated Press The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual, nonpartisan journalism. We are reporting on changes within the U.S. government under the new administration. If you are a former or current government worker who would like to share information with us, please message us on Signal at TheAP.1846

Associated Press writer Michelle R. Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

mortavius2525 on March 6th, 2025 at 06:30 UTC »

> “You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it said. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.”

MAY have caused? Do you think firing people, then asking them to come back two weeks later MIGHT have caused some disruption? Like, you're not certain?

kmoonster on March 6th, 2025 at 05:30 UTC »

You mean emails in accounts they were locked out of?

JimBeam823 on March 6th, 2025 at 05:20 UTC »

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Department of Government Efficiency.