Governor Wes Moore signs the Protect Our Federal Workers Act
Houst Bill 1424
MARYLAND – Governor Wes Moore signed numerous bills into law this week, causing many to applaud the way he’s stood up for Marylanders.
Since President Trumps budget cuts have put millions of federal employees’ jobs at risk, Americans have protested across the country. With the new executive order making it easier to fire probationary workers. Governor Wes Moore didn’t hesitate to respond by signing House Bill 1424 into law.
Known as the Protect our Federal Workers Act.
Protecting Our People
Governor Wes Moore spoke at the signing. “To all of our federal workers, we have a distinct and unique exposure to what’s happening right now with federal government.”
He goes on to say, “There are over 260,000 federal workers who live in the state of Maryland. Over 160,000 federal jobs in the state of Maryland, these are our people, and they are under attack.”
Accountability
President Trump signed an Executive Order on April 24th strengthening probationary periods in the federal service, with three main bullet points.
-Enhancing Federal Workforce Accountability
-Ensuring a High-Quality Federal Workforce
-Draining the Swamp or holding the federal bureaucracy accountable.
The Salisbury Chamber of Commerce President Bill Chambers says Maryland’s leadership did the right thing. “The Trump administration is slashing departments and agencies across the board, which is a significant impact on the State of Maryland. So, the good thing about this legislation the governor just signed is it expands the fund for these impacted federal workers, so they are more able to easily access things like interest free loans…”
He goes on to say, “It also enables the State to work closely with the counties in Maryland on recruitment events, job fairs, to try and fill some vacant state positions.”
Rainy-Day Fund
Current State funds set aside for a temporary government shutdown will shift to help workers permanently cut, and The Federal Government Employee Assistance Loan Fund would be buttressed with $5 million from the state’s Rainy-Day Fund.
Governor Wes Moore says it’s up to the State to step- up. “We have to make sure we’re doing everything in our power, to make sure we are supporting them. and making sure we’re making it easier for them to land of their feet when it’s the federal government that is pushing them down.”
AFGE
The American Federation of Government Employees is expected to lay off more than 200 employees. This includes more than 100 workers within the union president’s office, along with dozens in offices across the U.S. Chambers says neighboring states aren’t moving fast enough, and is glad Maryland and Governor Wes Moore is ahead of the curve on the Peninsula.
The Protect our Federal Workers Act gives the Office of the Attorney General new authority to defend federal employees, or take legal action due to federal government shutdowns, firings, office relocations or agency closures.
