Federal workers, including at least one disabled veteran, fired from the VA in Madison
More than a dozen Veterans Affairs employees in Madison, including at least one disabled veteran, were reportedly fired this week as part of the latest cuts to the federal workforce championed by President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk. The VA Medical Center in Tomah also experienced "adjustments" in staffing, according to the area's congressman, though it was unclear how many people were laid off. The exact number of terminations across Wisconsin's VA medical centers is similarly unclear, but local union representatives from Madison and Milwaukee have estimated at least two dozen probationary employees have been fired in the past week.
The workers who lost their jobs in Wisconsin were among 1,400 laid off by the Department of Veterans Affairs this week, bringing the total number of VA employees fired nationwide over the last month to about 2,400. Sixteen VA workers were laid off in Madison this week, including nine veterans, according to William Townsend, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1732 in Madison. Townsend said he believed the employees were probationary, meaning they had been in their jobs for less than a year.
Those fired included workers at the veterans hospital in Madison and at the North Central Consolidated Patient and Accounting Center, which is responsible for third-party insurance billing, Townsend said. One veteran who was laid off worked as a registered nurse, two worked in "veteran services," another was a Medicaid reimbursement technician and others worked in account management, among other roles. A statement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released Tuesday claimed that "mission-critical employees" would be exempt from widespread dismissals. Nurses are among those positions considered "mission-critical." But the registered nurse at the Madison VA was fired anyway.
"We come to work every day and we are dedicated to serving veterans," said Townsend, who identifies as a disabled veteran. "For Congress to vilify us the way they’re doing, it's not only disrespectful to my service and my years of service to this country, but it's also disrespectful to every man and woman that actually works for the VA." On Thursday, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern California District said the mass firings were likely unlawful and ordered that the Office of Personnel Management halt the firings. The decision did not order the rehiring of anyone who had already been terminated.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/28/federal-workers-including-a-disabled-veteran-fired-from-madison-va/80706623007/