FEMA tells court it is offering jobs back to employees who were let go in January
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun offering new assignments to disaster workers whose contracts it did not renew in January, an attorney representing the Trump administration told U.S. District Court Friday evening, reversing a controversial decision that led a coalition of unions, scientific groups and local governments to sue the administration.
U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian wrote in a memorandum filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco that FEMA “has reached out to offer new appointments” to term-limited personnel whose contracts expire in the first three weeks of January.
The notice comes after months of uncertainty about the future of tenure-limited disaster workers, who make up about half of FEMA’s workforce. This follows news from FEMA earlier this week. 14 employees who were on paid administrative leave were reinstated Eight months to sign a public letter containing dissenting criticism policies received by FEMA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
The actions are the latest indications that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is moving away from his predecessor Kristi Noem’s tougher approach to FEMA before she was ousted as DHS leader. They also raise questions about whether these measures are a response to concerns that the disaster agency may not be prepared for the Atlantic hurricane season and major events such as the FIFA World Cup.
FEMA did not immediately respond to questions Friday about the court announcement or how many employees had received offers to return. A spokesman told The Associated Press on Thursday that the agency was “addressing extraordinary staff actions to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters,” although he did not comment on specific staff actions.
FEMA’s Cadre of On-Call Response/Rescue Workers, or CORE, serve two- to four-year assignments, but they traditionally are routinely renewed; this system allows the agency to increase and decrease its capacity as needed. There are approximately 10,000 COREs. Current and former FEMA employees told the AP that it is not uncommon for employees to work for decades or even retire in limited-term assignments.
FEMA abruptly stopped renewals at the beginning of 2026 because some CORE workers’ contracts had expired, extending other appointments for only 90 days at a time. agency paused non-renewals It’s late January, just before a severe winter storm hits several states. By then, 159 CORE had not been renewed, according to an affidavit. declaration By FEMA interim leader Karen S. Evans.
A coalition led by the American Federation of Government Employees labor union sued the administration over the contract failures, claiming they were part of a broader plan to cut FEMA’s workforce in half and undermine FEMA’s congressional authority to ensure the nation’s disaster preparedness.
In his statement, Evans rejected any plan to “completely” eliminate COREs and said that those not renewed “do not threaten FEMA’s ability to fulfill its statutory mandate.”
It’s unclear how FEMA’s decision will affect the case. The plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement submitted to the court Friday evening that they would respond “following the proper investigation.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys are scheduled to remove former DHS Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Guy next week as part of an ongoing discovery effort into the decision-making process that led to CORE’s dismissal.
A FEMA employee who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media said he knew of at least two COREs that had already been recalled.
FEMA officials also announced this week that COREs whose contracts expired between January and May and were previously given a 90-day extension, and COREs whose contracts expired after May “may be reassigned for up to one year,” according to an email to staff reviewed by the AP. The email stated that “eligible” FEMA reserve members will be renewed for two years. The contracts of approximately 7,000 reservists in the agency’s growing workforce expire May 2.
“Our readiness directly impacts our ability to help Americans in need, and every employee plays a critical role in meeting these challenges,” the email said.
