Rep. Neguse Continues Fight to Reinstate and Ensure Back Pay for Colorado’s Illegally Terminated Federal Workers
Lafayette, CO — Congressman Joe Neguse, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, issued the following statement after leading with Rep. LaMonica McIver an effort to reinstate federal employees who were unjustly fired by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s “DOGE” initiative which enacted mass terminations at critical agencies like the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service (NPS):
“For communities like mine, in Northern Colorado and across the Western Slope, federal workers play an integral role in preserving our state’s treasured spaces and natural resources. And these unlawful mass terminations greatly impair our ability to do everything from processing permits for outdoor recreation to bolstering our local wildfire response and preparedness,” Congressman Neguse said.
He continued: “The Trump Administration’s firings are senseless and short-signed and have the ability to cause irreparable harm to the people, places, and public lands that make Colorado so special. We must continue to fight in Congress to help reinstate recently terminated employees.”
Neguse joined fellow House Democrats in championing Rep. McIver’s Model Employee Reinstatement for Ill-advised Termination (MERIT) Act, to reinstate federal employees, including probationary workers who were recently promoted or hired, who were fired from federal agencies and departments as part of the ongoing mass layoffs. The bill would also provide back pay, treat the employees as “involuntarily separated without cause,” and require the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit to Congress a report on the number of workers fired and other information about the layoffs.
Find more information on the MERIT Act HERE.