Springfield U.S. Representative Richard Neal said he's pleased a federal court judge Thursday temporarily halted the firing of thousands of government employees.
The Trump Administration has been pushing to shrink the federal workforce citing a desire to save money. During an event in Holyoke Friday, Neal said the employees are being mistreated.
"Part of it is cruel," Neal said. "I think that needs to be emphasized. Beyond the chaos of it, the idea that people arbitrarily are being removed from their jobs without any opportunity to appeal decisions, so I’m pleased with the decision of the federal court and I hope this will make its way to the Supreme Court and we’ll have an orderly discussion about workers’ rights.”
Neal said the way the mass firings have been undertaken are “ill-conceived and chaotic.”
“The federal government functions on the basis of people at the FAA, nutrition, USDA, our military,” he said.
Neal said recent layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service could impact taxpayers looking to file their returns in the coming weeks.
"Sixty-eight hundred employees of the IRS at the height of the filing season have been removed," he said. "And let's put something out there that's very basic: You need people to answer the phones."
Neal is the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee. His comments came a day after hundreds of weather forecasters and other employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were laid off.
