Dismissed VA workers get jobs back, are placed on leave

Dismissed workers in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs got their jobs back — though they were placed on paid leave and their futures remain uncertain.

Letters and emails trickled late this week to a dozen workers at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who were fired in mid-February as part of a sweeping effort by President Trump’s administration to reduce waste and inefficiency.

The workers learned they would receive back pay, but would be placed on paid leave indefinitely.

“You may be ordered to return to duty at any time,” the letters state.

Court orders in ongoing federal lawsuits in Maryland and California over the past week mandated that the workers get their jobs back, at least temporarily, because the government hadn’t followed proper termination procedures.

The timing and onboarding process had been unclear, though. The dismissed workers also had lost access to their VA email accounts, adding to the confusion.

The VA “is complying” with both orders, said spokesperson Peter Kasperowicz in a written statement. Pending litigation prevented further comment, he added.

Two chapters of AFGE, the American Federation of Government Employees union, represent several of the dismissed workers at the Minneapolis VA. Local 1969 President Christine Schoenbechler said the effort to reduce waste has produced the opposite so far, especially with reinstated workers on leave.

“Leaving them at home but paying them when we’re short-staffed and working overtime to cover? It’s really ridiculous,” she said.

The VA in February had dismissed more than 2,000 workers nationwide, all recent hires on probationary status, and estimated it could save $83 million per year and spend it on other services for veterans. The cuts included a research grant-writer at the Minneapolis VA and a recreational therapist who also was a disabled veteran.

Union leaders said some of the Minneapolis workers had received glowing reports from supervisors, but their termination letters accused them of being substandard or causing conduct problems at work. Their reinstatements will clear their records.

An email was sent Monday, reinstating John Helcl, of South St. Paul, to his workplace efficiency job in the VA’s office of debt management. But he didn’t receive a copy until Friday. Hours later, he received another email, indicating that he had one business day to resign or contact his supervisor and schedule his return to work.

Failure to return as scheduled, he was warned, could result in disciplinary action.