Judges’ ruling leads to rehiring process for federal employees

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - After two federal judges handed down rulings saying federal employees were fired unlawfully, the Trump istration is being ordered to reinstate tens of thousands of employees, including those who worked in the Kansas City area.

After serving in the Army, Shayne Mitchell got a job at the Bureau of Fiscal Service, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in Kansas City, in IT.

“It’s the agency that processes almost every single payment for the U.S. federal government,” said Mitchell. “Whether that’s an astronaut’s paycheck or the electric bill for a radar station that does weather or traffic control or everyone’s Social Security payments or tax refunds. Those ultimately come through those Bureau of Fiscal Services’ IT processes.”

He says shortly after he was hired, DOGE came to their facility requesting to get into the data center.

“Those folks were there, they made some assessments and were supposedly trying to get some feel of what was important and what’s not,” said Mitchell. “A few weeks later, apparently none of that actually meant anything, because everyone who was probationary was let go.”

Mitchell says he was on the job for about a month.

“Finally got my clearance, the training, all the paperwork I needed to go and get my badge, was sworn in in front of the flag,” said Mitchell. “Now I can actually start doing my job and within 30 days of that...all that money and time that was spent to bring me onboard to do the job was just, nope.”

It left him in disbelief.

“Not only are you suddenly unemployed, but you also know the mission is not getting done,” said Mitchell. “That’s where the Army ethos comes in, you don’t walk away from your duties. That was rough.”

Mitchell said he knew of his legal protections as a federal employee and a veteran, so when it was ruled the Trump istration acted unlawfully in firing federal employees like him, he felt vindicated.

“I got an email saying they were going to move me to an istrative leave instead of just gone,” said Mitchell. “So that does make me feel a little better in regard to if my kid is going to have health insurance next week. My child has some ongoing things, so I don’t want their health insurance to lapse. That’s quite important to me.

“On the other hand, on istrative leave, I’m not doing my job. I’m still getting paid by the American taxpayer, but I’m not doing the mission that I am getting paid to do.”

Mitchell believes there will still be efforts to reduce the federal workforce, but he hopes it’s gone about the correct way.

“Ideally, the rug isn’t going to be pulled out from underneath you,” said Mitchell. “We want to have confidence that if there is going to be a reduction in the force, it will be sane people who make very careful decisions and respect the mission that you do and the service that you deliver to the American people.”

He’s asking for people to pay attention to what’s happening and for elected officials to do something. “I feel like our representatives could maybe get that undone with a phone call,” said Mitchell. “Maybe they have to a bill. They didn’t have to a bill to change the policy so maybe they can get that changed back. But if they need to a bill, that is their job and what they do and I would really appreciate it if they did that.”

Mitchell says he has spoken to a few local lawmakers, with some easier to get in touch with than others. There are several bills that have been introduced or proposed that would rehire veterans who are federal employees that have been fired. Mitchell says he would like to see every local elected official at least one of the bills.

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