The Education Department asked over 200 employees who had been laid off in its civil rights division to return on a temporary basis.
Secretary Linda McMahon in March sought to lay off around 1,400 of its 4,200 employees, including around 250 staffers working at the agency’s Office for Civil Rights. Seven of OCR’s 12 regional offices were also shuttered.
But during litigation over the legality of sweeping reduction-in-force orders, McMahon is now asking hundreds of the staffers to return to the office after they were placed on paid administrative leave nearly eight months ago.
“In order for OCR to pursue its mission with all available resources, all those individuals currently being compensated by the Department need to meet their employee performance expectations and contribute to the enforcement of existing civil rights complaints,” a notice the agency sent to the employees stated, according to FedScoop.
The move will assist the Education Department in addressing a growing backlog of civil rights cases. A top OCR official said the department received 7,888 civil rights complaints between March 11 and Sept. 1, according to court documents cited by NOTUS.
“While RIF notices are tolled during litigation, it is important to refocus OCR’s work and utilize all OCR staff to prioritize OCR’s existing complaint caseload,” the notices said.
Employees were asked in an email on Friday to return to work, and have been instructed to return in person to their regional offices on Dec. 15.
Julie Hartman, the agency’s secretary for legal affairs, confirmed that the Education Department will “temporarily bring back” OCR staff from administrative leave.
“The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,” she said in a statement.
The latest development comes as the Trump administration has engaged in systemic efforts to dismantle the Education Department, including by recently signing multiple “interagency” agreements that hand off the agency’s duties to other federal bureaucracies.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES DOWNSIZING WITH SIX INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS
McMahon said last month she was actively talking to lawmakers about making the changes permanent.
“I’ve talked to dozens of members of Congress to explain to them exactly what we’re doing, to bring them up to speed and to say to them, look, when we have completed some of these transfers, that are working incredibly well, then we will be looking to Congress to codify those, make them permanent,” she said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Education Department for comment.
