DC to implement freeze on hiring, overtime as it prepares for massive budget cuts

Yahoo

15-04-2025

WASHINGTON () – D.C. will immediately freeze hiring, bonuses and promotions as the District prepares to make massive budget cuts in the coming weeks.
Overtime will be frozen starting April 27.
The changes come after the House failed to pass the DC Local Funds Act before recessing last week.
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The legislation was intended to be a budget fix after Congress passed a spending plan in March that reverted D.C. back to its 2024 budget, effectively cutting the District's budget by $1 billion immediately.
The District was able to find a budget workaround under a 2009 law that allows it to increase its spending in some cases by notifying Congress. That will limit the impact to about $410 million.
'I can only tell you have frustrating it is,' said Mayor Muriel Bowser. 'Immediately, we will limit spending in the government. I will notify all mayoral agencies, and we will be earnestly planning a revised 2025 budget that reflects those changes.'
On Tuesday, the Mayor sent out an order titled 'Extraordinary Measures to Address Congressionally-Imposed Cuts to the District's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.'
According to the order, hiring for all executive branch agencies is frozen. However, individuals who received a written job offer on or before April 14 and have a confirmed start date before May 5 are exempt. It's unclear how many open positions this will impact.
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Overtime will be frozen starting on April 27, with no agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, DC Fire and EMS or the Office of Unified Communications, specifically exempt.
In the meantime, the City Administrator will draft a plan for employee furloughs and the closure of government facilities. That plan will be presented to the Mayor by April 25. Some facilities, including DC Public Schools, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, shelters and more, are exempt.
Employees will not be paid while furloughed.
The order also states that the City Administrator may take additional actions, including 'early termination of contracts, leases, grants and agreements; reductions in force and other employee layoffs; and reductions to any other category of expenditures,' if deemed appropriate.
Agencies can submit waivers requesting an exemption from the overtime restrictions and other freezes outlined in the order. Those will be considered on a rolling, case-by-case basis.
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The City Administrator will submit a supplemental budget to the council for approval. That is expected sometime after April 25.
City officials said the plan must be in place by July 1, but that cuts, closures and furloughs could happen before that.
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