Erin Cagney, an archaeologist with the National Park Service, was recently reinstated after being affected by a mass purge of probationary employees during the Trump administration. However, she now faces administrative leave, leaving her uncertain about her job status. Cagney expressed a strong desire to return to work, emphasizing the mental toll of being in limbo. Following court orders mandating rehire across multiple federal agencies, numerous other workers describe a lack of clarity around their positions, with some receiving reinstatement notifications and back pay but many still left in uncertainty about their futures.
I desperately want to return to my job... I don't want to be on administrative leave, in limbo, for some unknown duration of time.
More than a dozen fired probationary workers described a kind of purgatory in which information about their livelihoods and what might happen next was difficult, if not impossible, to come by.
Some fired employees say they have received emails informing them of their reinstatement. Some have seen back pay appear in their bank accounts.
Ms. Cagney, first ensnared in the Trump administration's purge of thousands of probationary employees, now finds herself caught in the slow-motion chaos playing out across the government.
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