(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Who thinks DOGE cares about benefits for 200,000 fired federal workers? [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-02-23

DOGE and the authors of Project 2025 have dreamed about mass firings of federal workers for months now. So who’s supposed to process all those offboardings? And are they ready to do so?

When someone gets fired, there’s lots of behind-the-scenes paperwork that needs to get done. How much sick leave and vacation time does someone have? How much do they have in their retirement fund, and is it vested? Veterans who join the federal government after their service get a whole host of additional benefits. How will these get calculated? Undoubtedly, there were many people who were out sick or on vacation or family leave when the DOGE cannonball came through. What about them? Who calculates their benefits? Plus, every single one of these workers will be entitled to unemployment benefits, which means 50 different state governments will need to verify employment and income for all these now-fired workers.

Somewhere between 115,000 and 150,000 workers leave the federal government every year, about half retiring and the other half moving on to other jobs. That means processing paperwork for about 10,000 — 12,000 people per month.

But the administration’s goal is to start with firing 200,000 probationary workers and move on from there. The American Federation of Government Employees estimates that, by using Schedule F, almost 1,000,000 federal workers could lose their jobs. They want to do this within a few months, not over several years. Who’s supposed to handle all that paperwork?

Not so coincidentally, the federal government’s HR department, OPM (Office of Personnel Management) is in the crosshairs itself. The administration told them last month they want to cut OPM’s staff by 70%. They demanded an initial 30% cut and management was told to stop working on anything that wasn’t explicitly required by statute:

“People around OPM look like they have seen a ghost. People are shocked,” a source told Federal News Network by email.

It’s unclear exactly which departments will be affected, but

it’s likely the cuts will impact Retirement Services, the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, and other major federal programs that OPM runs.

So now, far fewer people will be tasked with processing paperwork for up to a million workers and over two million retirees. Paperwork that needs to be excruciatingly accurate for people to be able to claim unemployment, get paid for unused sick leave or vacation time, get their health or retirement benefits, and have all of those accounts properly credited. What could possibly go wrong?

“They are trying to get the government down to a minimum set of services. We all know that this will affect the people who need the services.”

Oh, and one of the other very important things that OPM handles is vetting and credentialing:

Every person hired into the federal workforce undergoes a vetting process, called “suitability,” that evaluates whether job candidates are fit for federal employment. OPM oversees this process, and it’s a critical step in building a trustworthy workforce. Suitability checks determine people’s eligibility to serve in a sensitive position, in the military, or as a contractor, to access classified material, or to be issued a federal credential. OPM's director is designated by the president to serve as the Suitability and Credentialing Executive Agent and is responsible for:

• the suitability, fitness, and credentialing standards agencies use in hiring;

• the position designation system, which classifies every federal position based on how much risk it carries to the integrity and efficiency of the civil service;

• investigative standards, policies, and procedures for reviewing suitability decisions;

• reciprocity standards, which allow agencies to use the results of other authorized agencies’ background investigations instead of duplicating effort; and

• suitability determinations and actions to enforce those determination

Once 1,000,000 federal workers have been fired, there’ll be lots and lots of room for idiots, flunkies and sycophants to be hired. But now with even fewer guardrails to keep them out.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/23/2305672/-Who-here-thinks-DOGE-cares-about-UI-benefits-for-200-000-workers?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/