Latest news with #Elison
Boston Globe
08-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
DOGE wants them ‘gone' but makes it hard for federal workers to move on
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Layoffs sting in any circumstance, but DOGE's slash-and-burn approach to government downsizing has blown past the usually strict protocols, legal experts say, leaving many workers mired in confusion or scrambling to clear their names. Unlike in the private sector, most public servants have until now enjoyed protections that say they cannot be abruptly cut without evidence of dismal performance, breaking agency rules or bad behavior. Advertisement While the administration has vowed to curb what it considers 'waste, fraud and abuse,' union lawyers have criticized the firings in a court filing as 'one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.' As outrage erupted over some of the losses, Trump clarified in a social media post Thursday that DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency, will proceed with a 'scalpel' rather than a 'hatchet.' Their fates resting with judges, those impacted in Pennsylvania — the birthplace of the U.S. government with a pre-DOGE federal workforce of roughly 60,000 — have been largely left to fend for themselves. 'Just limbo and uncertainty,' remarked one laid-off HIV treatment adviser, settling in front of a PowerPoint screen that read: Federal Employee Transition Workshop. Thus far, it's unclear how many Pennsylvania feds have been laid off. Advertisement 'We've lost 40 percent of our people in the field,' piped up Janice Barlow, a Commerce Department director who'd managed a job-growth office, tossing out an estimate. After 25 years at the agency, Barlow 'freaked out,' she said, and hastily accepted the deferred resignation offer that DOGE email-blasted to most of the government's 2.3 million employees in late January. Now she waited to see if Trump would honor it. At Tuesday's library meeting, almost everyone said they were too spooked to speak to the media, citing fear of harassment, discrimination from hiring managers or retaliation from the Trump administration, which may or may not take them back. (Federal workers usually require special permission to speak to the press.) The Washington Post interviewed five who agreed to be identified by first or middle names, or an initial, and verified their identities. 'I see lots of experience,' boomed the day's organizer, Charlie Elison, a bearded Army veteran turned civilian public affairs officer, scanning the turquoise-painted room. 'Lots of very impressive résumés.' Before him sat a former civil engineer for FEMA, a former children's nutritionist for USDA, a former attorney for HUD - the sign-up sheet stretched depressingly on. Elison, 41, was relieved to see no real estate agents. A couple had lurked with business cards at a similar meeting in Maryland, he'd heard, in case any of the freshly unemployed wanted to off-load their homes. 'We can lean on each other,' Elison continued. He'd been on paternity leave for the past nine weeks, worried that his role could also be axed. Adapting this presentation from a job-seeking guide for discharged veterans, he figured, was a healthy outlet for that stress. Advertisement The group breezed through best practices for updating LinkedIn and polishing their resumes. A handful posed for new headshots, courtesy of a neighborhood photographer. Yet no one had a foolproof strategy for handling a job application that probed, 'Have you ever been fired?' 'Who knows if humans even read those,' one let-go IRS staffer bemoaned to the photographer, 'or if AI automatically sorts you out.' Campbell, a 42-year-old HIV treatment adviser who'd worked for USAID, hadn't been sure what to say when she applied for unemployment benefits. Her initial attempt had been rejected, she said. The automated system must have marked her as terminated for misconduct, a state agent later explained on the phone. Weeks later, she received her first payment, covering about a fifth of her lost biweekly income, but Campbell still felt misunderstood. She'd applied over the past month for 25 jobs. Only two companies had called her back, mainly to verify that she was human. None has scheduled her for an interview. Her panic was rising. Her husband worked for a nonprofit feeding kids in low-income homes. His salary relied on federal grants - now a red flag for job security. They have two small children. A 'criminal organization' was how Musk had publicly described her employer of 10 years. She wished recruiters would focus on the mission her résumé detailed: Preventing new HIV infections in children. Others swapped tales of bureaucratic purgatory. The government IT specialist, who goes by E, was stuck on the meaning of 'administrative leave.' Her whole team, she said, had been frozen out of their accounts. But they were technically still employees, according to an email they'd received, who would be 'officially' booted in 60 days. Advertisement 'At least I got paid on Friday,' she said, unsure if that would actually continue. Looking for other jobs was tricky, she said. Certain roles might violate conflict-of-interest laws for federal workers. Plus, she didn't want to start interviewing if a lawsuit could imminently reverse her pending dismissal. In normal times, she'd consult her supervisor. That person, though, faced the same murk. No one knew what to do. The administration certainly wasn't helping, she said. Kim, a staffer at the Department of Health and Human Services - also on 'administrative leave' - struggled with the mixed messages. She'd received a letter stating that 'your performance has not been adequate' - starkly contradicting her 'outstanding' 2024 evaluation - and that she'd be 'terminated' on March 14. (Luckily, she'd managed to download her records before losing access.) Then she heard that the agency was pushing to reverse some layoffs. Stick with us, her boss had urged her. Kim had worked on boosting patient safety. She had a PhD in epidemiology and biological statistics. She had a master's degree in public health. Protecting the vulnerable on behalf of the United States was her dream job, she said - 'like getting called to the major leagues.' She had more years of school and training under her belt, she quipped, than 'some of these DOGE guys have been alive.' Sure, she could cash out elsewhere. But no one had yet prompted her to return her work computer and badge. She hoped that was a good sign.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to stop clocks from changing isn't ready for prime time, Senate committee decides
The clock approaches midnight at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the last night of the legislative session, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) After some tight votes in the House, the time has come for a bill that would have stopped clocks in Utah from changing twice a year. As members of the public gathered in a Senate committee room to speak on the perks of sunlight during the summer, or the burden of the schedule change for their kids with disabilities, senators already knew the legislation would be coming off the clock this year. Rep. Joseph Elison, R-Toquerville sponsored HB120, the bill that would stop the switch from standard time to daylight saving. He reiterated Wednesday that his proposal wouldn't be the final answer to the debate over which time is best to keep. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But, for most members of the Senate Business and Labor Committee, without a decision from the federal government on a single accepted time zone, the bill wasn't ready for prime time. The committee voted 7-1 to hold the bill, making it highly unlikely to return to lawmakers' calendars this year. 'I think the problem with bringing this bill back every year is we give some people hope only to steal it from them, snatch it away from them (…) when nothing changes,' Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, who made the motion to table the legislation, told his colleagues. Stopping Utah clocks from changing isn't a partisan issue, House vote reveals Many of Elison's constituents contacted him with the same concern, he said — they are 'sick and tired of moving their clocks back and forth.' And, without congressional approval, the only option to change that is for the state to adopt standard time year round. If HB120 had passed, the Legislature would have also honored a 2020 bill sponsored by Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, which authorized Utah to observe daylight saving time all year if Congress approved federal legislation allowing it, or if other states surrounding Utah had similar laws. 'I'm OK with the will of the body,' Elison told the committee. 'And I'm grateful to represent citizens in the state of Utah. And I simply brought this bill because I want to represent those 80% that have been asking year after year. I don't think this is going away, Sen. Weiler. I think it's going to be coming back over and over until we finally do something.' Elison, however, was pressed on the statistics he quoted during his presentation, including that not changing clocks has 80% support, which, he later explained, he got from adding data from different polls across the country. Representatives of the Utah Farm Bureau, along with different industries, including golf and construction, opposed the legislation as well, arguing that shorter summer days would affect their work. 'I am a part-time farmer. I don't necessarily want to be a lobbyist, but we don't have a big enough farm for us all to farm. So if I'm going to get my farm work done, much of it is done later in the evening. I appreciate that extra light to get that done. And we have a vast majority of Utahns that are unfortunately in my situation,' said Wade Garrett, from the Utah Farm Bureau. But, this is an issue that has split lawmakers and other Utahns, regardless of their political beliefs, since many families experience substantial hassles when the clocks change. Stacy Muhlestein, a Monticello resident who was invited by Elison to speak on the bill, said that for families with young children, neurodiverse family members or unique medical needs, the act of changing the time affects a lot more than just one hour of sleep. 'It causes weeks of upheaval, with many nights of repetitive sleep loss. For those of us with autistic children, we deal with more severe meltdowns and behaviors in the weeks following the time change due to the unnecessary disruptions in their sleep schedule and routine,' Muhlestein said. 'These unseen negative effects from the constantly changing of the time are quietly suffered in our most vulnerable households by our most heavily burdened caregivers.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah's time change bill hits roadblock on Senate Committee
SALT LAKE CITY () — A Utah bill that would has come to a grinding halt on Wednesday. H.B. 120 – otherwise known as '' – was brought before the Senate Business and Labor Committee, which voted 7-1 to table the bill indefinitely. This means, for the time being, Utahns can still expect to adjust their clocks forward and back an hour twice a year. Dutch Bros has a new menu item that's only available in Utah (and one other state) The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Joseph Elison (R-Hurricane) and co-sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton). Under H.B. 120, Utah would permanently adopt Mountain Standard Time as its time of choice until the federal government allows for permanent daylight time – which Utah would then adopt. Utah has already passed a bill that would see the state switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time should enough surrounding states agree to the change and the federal government allow it. The surrounding state threshold has been met, meaning Utah is only waiting for permission from the federal government. Father-son duo survives night in Utah wilderness after finding 'miracle' backpack H.B. 120 unanimously passed through the House Government Operations Committee before earning the House's approval behind a 52 to 23 vote. However, Senate lawmakers seemed to prefer letting the federal government make the final decision. 'I do think when we make this change, we should do it with some other states,' explained Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross). 'We are a peculiar people, but I don't know that we want to be extra peculiar with our international airport and our surrounding states by standing out with a different timezone.' Sen. Scott Sandall (R-Brigham City) said the time change would also put Utah on a different time than Idaho for eight months of the year, complicating interstate commerce for his constituents in Box Elder County. Rep. Elison, however, argued that his bill is the only opportunity Utah has to stop changing the clocks now – something Hawaii and Arizona have already done. 'Bottom line is we can let this thing die, which it sounds like it will, or we can punt the ball to the federal government and hope that they take the lead,' said Rep. Elison. 'I'd rather take the lead in Utah personally, but I'm OK with the will of the body.' The Senate Business and Labor Committee's decision to table the bill makes it unlikely lawmakers will take up the issue again this year. This means it is effectively back in the hands of the federal government to decide whether or not to end the clock change and what time we'd observe moving forward. Yeonseung Kim contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senators pump the brakes on bill to eliminate daylight saving time in Utah
A bill that would have allowed Utah to ditch daylight saving time appears to have reached the end of the road. The Senate Business and Labor Committee voted Wednesday 7-1 to table HB120, which effectively halts its progress during the remaining weeks of the legislative session. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Elison, R-Toquerville, had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 52-23. "We like to brag in the House that we're closest to the people, and I think that was reflected in the vote," Elison told KSL following Wednesday's committee hearing. "To not let it go onto the floor of the Senate, I think, is unfortunate." The bill is the most tracked proposal of the session, according to Elison, who said the majority of Utahns want to put an end to the semiannual changing of the clocks — a practice that is only slightly more rooted in tradition than efforts by Utah lawmakers to abolish it. Utah already has a law on the books that would move the state to permanent daylight saving time, if and when the federal government OKs it or if several neighboring states adopt the same policy, but Elison said adopting permanent standard time is the only way to immediately eliminate the clock changes each spring and fall. "There's never going to be an argument finalized and determined as far as which is better," Elison told the committee. "That's not the whole point of this bill at all. The point of this bill is simply saying if people want the clocks to stop (changing), this is the only thing that we have the authority to do as a legislative body." Although Utahns are overwhelmingly opposed to springing forward and falling back, they are split on whether to adopt daylight saving time — which is currently in effect during the summer months — or standard time — which leads to an earlier sunrise during the winter. A 2022 Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that 41% of registered voters in the state prefer daylight saving time, 30% would like to see permanent standard time, while about a quarter support the current system of going back and forth. One of the biggest concerns expressed by those who are opposed to changing the clocks is that it can disrupt sleep routines — especially for people who are neurodivergent or have other special needs. That is the case for Stacy Muhlestein, a Monticello resident who spoke in favor of the bill during Elison's committee presentation. "This is an important issue for families like mine — families that have young children, those with neurodiverse family members and those who have unique medical needs," she said. "For our families, the changing of the clocks does not affect just one hour of sleep. It causes weeks of upheaval with many nights of repetitive sleep loss." She said those "unseen negative effects from the constant changing of the time are quietly suffered in our most vulnerable households" and urged lawmakers to advance HB120. Dustin James Harper, another constituent, shared similar sentiments. "I can say without irony that this bill will affect my family's well-being more than any other legislation being debated this year," he said. "If the bill passes, my family will be better off. The same is true for the hundreds of thousands of families with young children in Utah." Jay Pea, a Phoenix resident and longtime advocate for permanent standard time, said standard time is more attuned to the natural rising and setting of the sun and comes with myriad health benefits. "It's the honest clock and it balances the morning and evening light fairly which benefits our sleep, our mood, our health, our safety, our education, our economy," he said. However, the bill faced stiff opposition from groups like the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Recreation and Parks Association which argued that the extra daylight in the summertime is valuable for their industries. "It will have a severe negative impact on the construction industry," said Taz Biesinger with the Utah Home Builders Association, noting that many cities have noise ordinances that prevent workers from starting until 7 a.m. Eliminating daylight saving time, Biesinger said, would force construction workers to toil in the "heat of the day." Ryan Peterson with the Utah Golf Alliance said the game is a big economic driver for the state, and losing an hour of daylight in the summertime would be problematic. "It will be a very negative impact on the game of golf," Peterson said. Vicki Lyman, a Delta resident, also voiced opposition to HB120. "We very much appreciate daylight saving time," Lyman told lawmakers. "As I raised my children, it was great to have that extra hour in the evening to go do activities with them." Elison acknowledged the arguments on both sides, but he said a majority of Utahns want the practice of switching their clocks to change. "It's a big issue for a lot of families," Elison told KSL, "and the fact that somebody can't adjust their golf game by an hour, I think, is kind of crazy." Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, expressed sympathy for families with young children and special needs, but he said the better move is to go to daylight saving time year round. Weiler moved to table the bill. "I just don't want to have to go through this again," Weiler said. Elison told him that isn't likely. 'I don't think this is going away,' he said.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Stopping Utah clocks from changing isn't a partisan issue, House vote reveals
An image of a clock is displayed beside a list of bills under consideration at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the last night of the legislative session, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) The first time Toquerville Republican Rep. Joseph Elison presented HB120, a bill that would stop Utahns from changing their clocks back and forth twice a year, to the House floor, time ran short to accommodate all of the comments from his colleagues. On Wednesday afternoon, when he was able to bring the discussion back, he did it with a hint of humor. 'This is such a good bill,' he said, while many in the chamber laughed. While the discussion was lighthearted, many representatives had strong opinions on why they supported or opposed the legislation. Ultimately, the House voted 52-23 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate for its consideration. It was a vote that didn't follow party lines. Members of both the Republican and Democratic caucus leadership split into what would normally be odd groups. The issue has been controversial for years, with other lawmakers attempting to establish a change if the federal government decided to stick with either standard time or daylight saving time year-round. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But, Elison emphasized again, this bill doesn't present a question on which time setting is best. Under his bill, beginning in 2026, Utah's time would remain on Mountain Standard Time at all times, no matter the season. Observing standard time is the only route the state government can take to stop the clocks from changing. That's what Arizona and Hawaii currently do. However, HB120 directs the state to switch to daylight saving time, the time used in the summer when residents advance their clocks by one hour, if the federal government takes action to make that the default. 'What this bill does is it says, until such time, we do have control over, as a body, to stop our clocks from moving backward and forward each year,' Elison said. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, quickly rose in support of the legislation, citing the experience of his daughter who has special needs. 'She doesn't understand what this bill is about, but the one thing that she understands is when we change the clock twice a year, it messes her schedule up,' Eliason said. 'And it sometimes takes weeks to adjust.' From a health perspective, the benefits of a steady time, especially for children and people with special needs, far outweigh the perks of a little extra time of sunshine in the summer, Eliason said. Some opponents argued that while constituents have asked for years to eliminate the time change, it would have repercussions they aren't able to see now. Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, warned lawmakers to be careful with what they wish for, remembering the times when an energy crisis pushed the government to adopt daylight saving time year-round in the '70s. But, the change didn't really help save energy then, and, after public outcry, the government switched back to standard time. 'Experience is the best teacher,' Chew said. 'That is why we don't touch a hot pot a second time, and why we don't walk behind a horse because somebody else got kicked and they told us about it.' Others argued the bill could be 'devastating' for sports in the state, since it would limit the timeframe of outside activities during spring and fall. 'I think that light in the evening for certainly sports, yards, camping and events, and things like that is vital, and I think we should keep it,' said Rep. Mark Strong, R-Bluffdale. 'So those of you that are voting for this bill just because you think that's what your constituents are telling you, maybe should gather a little courage and do the right thing and vote in opposition to this bill.' Despite clock ticking on the debate, the bill isn't a waste of time, Elison said. 'We were all elected, in my opinion, by very competent voters. I think people know exactly what this means,' he said. 'I think people have been living like this for decades. They know exactly what it means to be on Mountain Time. If they don't understand, they can look at our neighbor to the south, Arizona. They do it perfectly fine.' In fact, Elison said, on a regular June 21, Salt Lake City has 44 more minutes of sunlight than Phoenix, Arizona. Issues like the timeframe to play varsity games could be solved by adjusting schedules by an hour, Elison said. And, he added, he isn't a fan of the idea of leaving it up to Congress to pass a law to control the time setting, because the federal government has delayed action on the issue for years. 'You want to talk about courage. I look at all the moms and all these parents of autistic kids, struggling kids, blacking out their windows at nighttime. There's all these arguments back and forth,' Elison said. 'Courage is people who live with this every day and continue to come up here and ask us to change this law, and we don't.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
