Elfreth Introduces First Bipartisan Anti-DOGE Bill in Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03) introduced her first piece of legislation, the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act. The bill ensures that if and when employees are reinstated, they will not need to restart their probationary period for the same job they previously held and can continue to do the important work of the American people. This is the first bipartisan piece of legislation introduced in Congress that aims to protect the federal workforce from the chaos and confusion of President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE.

“As the daughter of two civil servants, I understand the vital work that public servants do on behalf of the American people. In the past month, we have seen an unprecedented attack on our federal workforce through the indiscriminate firings of probationary employees. Probationary employees are early and mid-career individuals, as well as those recently promoted after years of service, who are the next generation of leaders in the civil service. These workers were not given two weeks' notice. They were not given severance. They were shut off from their work—and from their livelihoods—when they had mortgages, children, and parents to take care of. These are patriots who serve our country, but instead of being thanked for their service, they were tossed to the curb and told not to let the door hit them on the way out,” said Congresswoman Elfreth. “We must protect and expand pipelines to government service and recognize their contributions and expertise. As employees are being reinstated at agencies and departments across the federal government, the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act will ensure that the clock will not restart on these employees’ probationary period.”

Under current federal law, there is no uniform provision in statute that guarantees if a probationary federal employee is separated from service during this period, that if and when they are reinstated, they will not have to restart their probationary period. As progress is made in the courts to reinstate federal workers, this legislation would clarify these guidelines and regulations for our federal workers.

Senators Chris Van Hollen and Mark Warner have introduced accompanying legislation in the Senate.

“The Trump-Musk illegal purge of federal employees has unfairly harmed thousands of dedicated civil servants and their families, while threatening the critical services they provide day in and day out to the American people. There is clearly no method to this madness – swept up in this chaos were longtime career employees who were recently promoted, along with others who had received glowing performance reviews for their good work. We will continue fighting to reverse these reprehensible actions in the courts – and as those efforts allow employees to return to their jobs, this legislation guarantees that these employees don’t have to restart the clock,” said Senator Van Hollen (D-MD).

“Over the past 50 days, more than 20,000 non-political civil servants have been ruthlessly booted from their jobs without cause. Unsurprisingly, a number of these individuals are now being reinstated, either through legal proceedings or because the Trump-Musk administration has realized that these jobs were necessary, and these employees not easily replaced,” said Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA). “This important legislation would ensure that those dedicated civil servants are able to pick back up where they left off and finish out their probationary periods without penalty.”

“AFGE thanks Representative Sarah Elfreth for introducing the Protect our Probationary Employees Act, a bill that, if enacted, would allow terminated probationary or trial period employees to resume the remainder of the period upon reinstatement instead of having to restart their probationary period for the same job they previously held. This bill, if enacted would allow hardworking civil servants to return to the important work of serving the American people.  These employees who joined the federal government were suddenly terminated due to this administration’s disdain for federal employees and desire to privatize their work. Our union stands with Representative Elfreth and other members of Congress to fight the demoralization and degradation of federal civil service and urge other members of Congress to cosponsor this bill to protect probationary employees,” said Everett Kelley, AFGE National President.  

“I want to thank Representative Elfreth for introducing this bill to ensure the probationary employees who have lost their jobs are not penalized for a break in service because of these cruel and arbitrary removals.  Agencies have worked hard to hire new employees and have invested heavily in their training. This bill helps ensure that that probationary employees are treated fairly and that agencies have the employees needed to continue providing services to the American people,” said Doreen Greenwald, NTEU National President.

Elfreth is the proud daughter of two civil servants and represents over 44,000 federal workers in Maryland’s Third District. She has taken swift action and spoken out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk’s attempts to gut the civil service. She has co-sponsored the Saving the Civil Service Act and dedicated her first floor speech to the federal workers she represents.

The full bill text is available HERE. The press conference introducing the legislation is available HERE. The legislation is co-sponsored by Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Nanette Barragan (D-CA-44), Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-05), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Janelle Bynum (D-OR-05), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05), Seve Cohen (D-TN-09), Sharice Davids (D-KS-03), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Cleo Fields (D-LA-06), Valarie Foushee (D-NC-04), John Garamendi (D-CA-08), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Jeffery Hurd (R-CO-03), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04), Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Timothy Kennedy (D-NY-26), Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), George Latimer (D-NY-16), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Elenor Norton (D-DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD-02), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07).

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