Biden-Harris Administration Reinstates FIRED VA Employees  

Employees Accused of Mistreating Veterans Receive $134 Million in Back Pay.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the results of its investigation into the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reinstating employees fired by the Trump Administration for mistreating American veterans. Of the 4,000 disgraced former VA employees terminated, the Biden-Harris Administration has already offered reinstatement and paid over $134 million in back pay to more than 1,700 individuals. AFPI has learned through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests that the Biden-Harris Administration has reinstated over 100 terminated employees to date. If all 4,000 fired employees receive back pay and reinstatement, taxpayers’ bill for the full settlements could exceed $300 million.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has let down American veterans and taxpayers. Those fired for mistreating American veterans should not even be allowed near the VA, much less reinstated,” said Former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Distinguished Fellow of AFPI’s Center for American Security Robert Wilkie. “Instead of litigating these baseless grievances or working with Congress to strengthen the Accountability Act, the Biden-Harris Administration surrendered to the government employee union. Taxpayers and veterans who receive care from poor performers will pay the price.”

President Donald J. Trump signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 after a series of scandals during the Obama Administration. The law gave the VA new authority to dismiss employees for poor performance or misconduct quickly. The principal federal union representing VA employees filed multiple grievances over the VA’s use of the new accountability procedures. Instead of defending the use of this authority, the Biden-Harris Administration settled those grievances with the American Federation of Government Employees and announced it would stop using the Trump-era Accountability Act procedures.1 The VA estimates that more than 4,000 employees will be offered reinstatement and/or back pay, but the administration has not publicly reported how much these settlements will cost or how many employees have been reinstated.

Of the 106 employees who have accepted VA’s reinstatement offers and are currently working at VA once more, they were originally removed for reasons that include poor performance, sleeping on duty, unauthorized access to an employee’s medical records, failure to follow procedures, and failure to maintain a regular work schedule.

President Trump and Secretary Wilkie implemented reforms and accountability measures to the VA that put veterans first, firing close to 9,000 staff members who had long records of negligence that resulted in improper treatment and harm to veterans. During this administration, VA approval ratings soared to 90%. In removing these measures, the Biden-Harris Administration has eliminated quality care and respect for those who served our Nation.