Exempted from Trump's Hiring Freeze: Positions in Public Safety Sector. Confusion prevails among federal firefighters, correctional officers, and food inspectors regarding their non-inclusion.
The ongoing hiring freeze, ordered by President Trump, has extended to key agencies involved in public safety, immigration enforcement, and national security. Among these affected agencies is the U.S. Forest Service, a crucial player in federal firefighting efforts.
Currently, no new hiring is taking place within the U.S. Forest Service. This has led to a state of uncertainty for seasonal employees who typically return year after year. Some of these employees might opt to join state or local fire departments, resulting in understaffed engine modules, hotshot crews, and Initial Action crews.
At the Agriculture Department's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), job offers are being rescinded, and the hiring that is advancing is subject to intense scrutiny. Despite being told it is exempt from the hiring freeze, the agency is experiencing a slowdown in recruitment.
The hiring freeze is causing a "trickle-down effect" as employees are not moving up the chain of command to help manage fires. Fire captains, for instance, are unable to make seasonal hires. Without qualified personnel, the U.S. Forest Service cannot staff fire engines and cannot staff hotshot crews.
In an effort to address this issue, the USDA is reportedly working with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on wildland firefighting positions. However, within the U.S. Forest Service and the Food Safety Inspection Service, specific offices or entities were officially exempted from the hiring freeze, but in practice, no new hires were conducted despite this exemption.
Advocacy groups warn that a hiring freeze could accelerate efforts to give industry more control over their own inspections, leading to increased risk of contamination, particularly during a current outbreak of bird flu impacting cattle and poultry across the country.
Bobbie Scopa, a former USFS operations section chief, advocates for her former colleagues, stating that personnel had expected a freeze exemption for the U.S. Forest Service, but one has yet to be implemented, causing widespread confusion and a hit to morale.
Despite the challenges, the U.S. Forest Service is engaged in planning for all scenarios as it normally would, despite the hiring freeze. Employees who have been offered jobs by the Forest Service have had those offers revoked, and only new hires with start dates before Feb. 8 are being allowed to onboard.
As the situation continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how the hiring freeze will impact the U.S. Forest Service and the Food Safety Inspection Service in the long run.
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