Following a recent court ruling that shielded certain CDC staff from layoffs but not others, at least 600 members of the agency are getting notices of permanent termination.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 2,000 dues-paying members at CDC, said that many people have not yet received the letters, which were mailed out this week.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not provide information about the layoffs on Wednesday, instead directing an AP reporter to a statement from March that claimed the downsizing and restructuring were meant to increase the responsiveness and efficiency of health agencies.
According to AFGE officials, at least 600 CDC staff have been let go.
However, the federation stated in a statement on Wednesday that the union has not gotten official notices of who is being let off because of HHS’s startling lack of transparency.
About 100 employees who worked in violence prevention are among the permanent layoffs. Less than two weeks have passed since a guy killed a police officer on the CDC campus by firing at least 180 shots, according to several staff members.
The irony is heartbreaking: According to a blog post last week by some of the impacted employees, those whose jobs were removed were the very professionals who were taught to comprehend, stop, and prevent this type of behavior.
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As part of a comprehensive reform aimed at drastically reducing the number of government health organizations tasked with safeguarding and advancing the health of Americans, HHS officials delivered layoff notices to thousands of workers at the CDC and other agencies on April 1.
Since then, several have been placed on paid administrative leave, although they are unable to work while the lawsuits are pending.
Last week, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary order that protected workers in various CDC departments, including those that deal with sexually transmitted diseases, smoking, reproductive health, environmental health, workplace safety, and birth defects.
Other CDC employees, including those in the freedom of information office, are already facing layoffs as a result of the verdict, which did not safeguard them. Employees were informed that the terminations took effect on Monday.
Projects aimed at preventing underage dating violence, child abuse, and rape were among those impacted. Among the laid-off employees were those who had assisted other nations in monitoring child abuse, an endeavor that sparked an international summit in November when nations discussed establishing targets for reducing violence.
“It will be impossible to replace certain nationally and internationally recognized experts,” stated Tom Simon, the former senior director for scientific initiatives at the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention.
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