Federal workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are now facing mandatory overtime due to recent federal budget cuts. An internal email obtained by KIRO Newsradio indicates that starting May 18, many employees in Seattle will be required to work up to 25 hours of overtime each month.
This mandate follows the VA’s announcement of a significant workforce reduction, which will see more than 80,000 jobs cut—equivalent to 17% of its staff. Legal experts have conveyed that imposing overtime on non-exempt government employees is permissible, particularly in times of financial hardship.
The VA had previously lifted its mandatory overtime rule last summer, transitioning to a mostly voluntary overtime system. However, the agency has once again turned to this practice to manage its increased workload, having relied on mandatory overtime for the past seven years.
In response to these layoffs, several government employee unions have filed lawsuits aiming to reverse the termination of thousands of new hires as part of the federal workforce reduction initiated under the Trump administration, which included the dismissal of over 1,000 VA employees.
While the situation presents challenges, it also highlights the ongoing efforts of employee unions to advocate for workers’ rights in a difficult economic climate. The hope is that through legal challenges and union actions, more favorable conditions for VA employees can be achieved in the future.