MUSK-TRUMP PRESIDENCY – NOW CUTTING BOP SALARIES AND FIRING EMPLOYEES, WHILE THEY’RE ALREADY SHORT STAFFED?
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Days ahead of coming BOP pay cuts, some employees are already resigning.
The American Federation of Government Employees warned that BOP pay cuts will lead to feds leaving their jobs, exacerbating an already short-staffed workforce. Drew Friedman, @dfriedmanWFED, March 14, 2025
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As a result of BOP’s announcement, some employees have already left their positions. For example, several doctors and physician assistants have put in their resignation letters at a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky. Others plan to resign in the coming days.
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“Despite recent success with recruiting, BOP still faces staffing shortages — estimating a deficit of more than 9,500 correctional officers and about 3,000 medical professionals,” GAO wrote.
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NEW: DIRECTOR PETERS FIGHTS TO GET HER JOB BACK
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The position of Bureau of Prisons Director is a career Senior Executive Service (SES) role, despite being a presidential appointment. According to Section 5315 of Title 5, Part III, Subpart D, Chapter 53, Subchapter II, this is the case. Collette Peters, appointed by the Biden administration as BOP Director, was dismissed by the Trump administration just hours after his inauguration. Peters has hired attorney Mary Kuntz of the firm Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman and Fitch to represent her in a wrongful dismissal suit before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Kuntz noted that an SES member can be fired for cause; however, the administration’s dismissal cited only the vague reason of “changing priorities.”
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The existing staff shortage, which already results in inadequate healthcare, a lack of programs, and frequent lockdowns, is expected to worsen.
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Still Confusion Continues At Bureau Of Prisons
Yes, the situation has indeed worsened. With Director Colette Peters leaving (she gave it her best) and Acting Director William Lathrop stepping in, the influence of the Trump-Musk agenda has unsettled an already short-staffed and overworked correctional workforce. The new policies include the same significant changes plaguing the thousands of government workers across the country: mandatory in-office work, a hiring freeze, and the identification of probationary employees and those currently on administrative leave.
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This was followed by the Encouraged Voluntary RESIGN OPTION, with its Deadline, which is similar to the “Fork in the Road,” like the one Musk posted on X. From the Office of Personnel Management, federal employees could agree to leave their jobs and receive about eight months of salary, but there was no option to ask questions which a majority had. The confusion and concern caught fire.
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In the end, what are employees supposed to think? Just like government employees across the country, many are in despair. They are being pushed out the door and Forced to decide within nine days, but on February 6, 2025, a federal judge froze that order. Who is affected beyond the Bureau of Prisons correctional staff? The list includes nurses, doctors, general staff, guards, police officers, and employees of USAID (which has seen its numbers cut from 10,000 to 290), along with countless others.
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The Bureau of Prisons has been facing a staffing shortage. With further arbitrary cuts across all positions, more teachers and medical staff will be asked to take on roles traditionally held by correctional staff. This situation will likely lead to further delays in medical care and the closure or extended delay of additional FSA classes.
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Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi has been confirmed, but I don’t expect her to pull a rabbit out of her hat – do you? It appears she will be toeing the line of her Co-Presidents. However, identifying a new director of the BOP who could successfully work within the new OMB director’s financial restrictions is TBD. As the new OMB director wrote parts of Project 2025, making the entire government essentially an employee of the president, we’re all in for an uncomfortable four years.
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Regarding a new BOP Director, to date, this position has had a constant rotation of hired and fired directors. Dir. Peters at least rose from the ranks of education, while most have come through correction with little to no comprehension of rehabilitation and accepting inmates as people.
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represented by Democracy Forward and Bredhoff and Kaiser PLLC, filed suit.
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BOP employees have voiced significant concerns about the vague nature of these responses, which lack the expected standard procedural guidance from the government. In a firm counter, the AFGE issued a powerful statement condemning the policy, asserting: “Removing dedicated career civil servants from the federal government will lead to significant, unintended consequences, causing chaos for the millions of Americans who rely on an efficiently functioning federal government. This proposed change should not be viewed as voluntary. The series of anti-worker executive orders and policies clearly indicate that the Trump administration intends to turn the federal government into an environment hostile to employees, making them feel pressured to leave, even if they do not wish to.”
In response to recent developments, the union has initiated a lawsuit to contest what it views as an overt effort to politicize the civil service through executive orders.
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“BOP Policy and Forms Temporarily Unavailable
Transgender – LGBTQ Protections – PREA: With the swipe of a pen, have callously put lives in jeopardy in jails and prisons across the country with malleolus.
Maybe there is HOPE?
DT decides to let all eligible Minimum Security offenders skip prison and go directly to Home Confinement or Supervised Release – To Heck With The Courts and The USSC! It saves $$, right?
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Next, let all Eligible Campers and Halfway House Residents go to Home Confinement or Supervised Release.
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SOR, MAYBE I’M ASKING TOO MUCH?
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One of the Next Topics is Restitution.
OK, there might be many “next Topics” for the next four years, but for today, it’s Restitution.