This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
State budget officials say a plan to hire displaced federal workers is now on hold and are rescinding a budget request for staff to assist.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) earlier this year announced a plan to cherry-pick from a pool of federal workers who were laid off or took buyouts. Since then, the governor announced a state hiring freeze. His administration also offered buyouts in an effort to reduce the number of state employees.
Raquel Coombs, a spokesperson for the Department of Budget and Management, said more than 7,000 applications were reviewed as part of a “first wave of the Displaced Federal Workers Hiring Initiative.”
In June, the Department of Budget and Management asked the legislature to approve $30,000 to aid in the hiring of those federal workers.
That was before Moore announced the hiring freeze.
House and Senate Republicans criticized the request earlier this week.
“Since the hiring freeze has been announced, DBM is pulling back the budget request and is on hold with additional waves of the expedited hiring program as we assess ways to target these efforts to those critical state jobs that remain open for recruitment,” Coombs said in a statement provided to Maryland Matters.
Last month, Moore announced a plan to cut $121 million in general fund spending. The cuts are required as part of a compromise spending plan crafted by the General Assembly.
As part of that effort, eligible, full-time employees in the executive branch can apply for the buyout program. The terms include a flat $20,000 payment, plus an additional $300 for each year of service. It will also cover six months of paid state health benefits and pay out unused leave and compensatory time.
There is no target for the number of employees the state is hoping will take the buyout. Not all employees are eligible.
There are nearly 52,000 positions within the state personnel and Maryland Department of Transportation personnel systems. About 4,800 were vacant as of May. Another 13,500 are in job classifications that are exempt from the buyout offer.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore), in a text message, applauded the withdrawal of the request adding “once again (the Moore administration) appreciates Republican ideas.”
“This reversal is a small win for accountability, transparency, and fiscal common sense,” Hershey continued. “While Maryland faces a budget crisis and working-class families are tightening their belts, we must ensure government spending reflects our priorities.”
Moore announced the plan this year in response to an effort by President Donald Trump to cut the size of federal government. That effort — a campaign promise — includes cutting department spending, aid to state governments, eliminating departments and reducing the federal workforce through layoffs and buyouts.
Coombs, in the statement, said the goal was mitigate the economic “impact to Maryland and Marylanders from federal employees losing employment and to help attract critical skills needed in State government.”
Moore has made filling thousands of vacancies across state government a cornerstone of his rebuilding state government effort.
The legislature set aside $2 million to aid in the effort to recruit some federal workers. Moore called on local governments and the private sector to consider similar efforts.
