PRAIRIE CITY, OR (Blue Mountain Eagle) — Ryan McKnab liked his job as a wildlife biologist on the Malheur National Forest’s Prairie City Ranger District.
But now he’ll have to find a new place to work.
McKnab is one of the more than 100 federal workers with the Malheur National Forest, Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Umatilla National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management’s Vale district who reportedly lost their jobs over the Presidents Day holiday.
They were among thousands of probationary employees nationwide who have lost their jobs as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce.
The Forest Service declined to say how many Grant County residents were part of the firings. McKnab said he’s heard that 20 employees from the Malheur National Forest lost their jobs over the long weekend.
Trouble filling the job
Before McKnab, the wildlife biologist position with the Prairie City Ranger District wasn’t an easy job to fill. The district had offered another candidate the position, but that person quickly realized Prairie City wasn’t a good fit.
“They felt the town (was) too small for them, and they just kept on driving,” McKnab said.
The job remained open until people who knew McKnab’s educational background and other qualifications asked him to put in for the position as a Schedule A hire.
Schedule A allows a qualified person with a disability to be hired without having to compete with other applicants.
Michael Fallings, a partner in the Austin, Texas, office of the Tully Rinckey law firm, represents federal employees in work-related grievances with the government. He said all government workers must meet the established qualifications for the jobs they seek — no exceptions.
“All employees selected for federal government positions have to be qualified,” Fallings said. The idea that some applicants get special treatment “is a bit of a misnomer that’s put out there in relation to some of the DEI policies and whatnot.”
Workers new to the federal government must complete a probationary period. During that time, the workers do not have rights to appeal an adverse action, such as removal from their job.
Federal agencies can seek to remove probationary workers without any notice. Schedule A hires are given a two-year probationary period as opposed to the one-year period given to those who had to compete with other applicants for their jobs.
