Dismantling large segments of the federal workforce has been a goal of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term. The effort began with Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency urging federal workers to participate in a deferred resignation program and has continued with officials attempting to use the ongoing shutdown to fire furloughed employees.<\/p>\n
The most recent estimates indicate over 211,000<\/a> civilian employees have left federal service since January, according to the Partnership for Public Service.<\/p>\n Some of those former federal employees have transitioned to careers in California\u2019s state government.<\/p>\n Since March, at least 1,800 people affected by the federal workforce reductions have submitted applications through CalCareers<\/a>, the state\u2019s online job board. California agencies reported that at least 46 former federal employees have been hired since Trump took office.<\/p>\n The federal government shutdown, now in its fifth week, continues to strain hundreds of thousands of government workers who haven\u2019t received paychecks,<\/a> and some of those employees have applied for new jobs in state government. As of Wednesday, the California Department of Human Resources reported that 252 people impacted by the federal government workforce reductions had applied for a job with the state since the federal government shutdown began Oct. 1.<\/p>\n The State Worker Bee newsletter is here!<\/p>\n Sign up here<\/a> to get our weekly newsletter for California employees.<\/p>\n The California Environmental Protection Agency has been one landing spot for former federal workers. According to the federal EPA, the agency cut 23%<\/a> of its personnel as of July.<\/p>\n California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia said it\u2019s not surprising that former federal employees who worked in public health and environmental protection want to work in the Golden State. Garcia said that those public servants\u2019 departures come at a cost to the critical work of federal agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we also welcome the opportunity to leverage their experience and expertise, as well as the enhanced capacity to deepen our partnerships with other states that they bring,\u201d Garcia said in a statement.<\/p>\n Pushing back against the Trump administration<\/p>\n Christopher Grundler, a former EPA worker, with over four decades of experience in federal government, said he was alarmed by the changes Trump administration officials were making at the environmental agency. To push back against the reshaping of the EPA, he applied to work for the state of California.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was frankly just very difficult for me to watch the comprehensive dismantling of everything that I worked for over 42 years,\u201d Grundler said.<\/p>\n Now a deputy executive officer at the California Air Resources Board, Grundler said the Trump administration is actively taking steps to roll back environmental and health protections for the public. He said one of the offices he previously led at the EPA, the Office of Atmospheric Protection, no longer exists. The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Grundler said he joined CARB to help mount a defense of California\u2019s right to protect air and water quality.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government has not removed our authority to protect breathers from air pollution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As to the difference between federal and state service, Grundler said things move more quickly in Sacramento compared to Washington.<\/p>\n Additionally, he said it feels like he\u2019s working more closely with the public as a California state employee. It\u2019s easier to get out into communities, hear people\u2019s concerns and tell them what the state can do to help, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re in Washington, more often than not, you see the obstacles, you see the barriers,\u201d Grundler said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying you don\u2019t have that here in Sacramento, you do, but I think there\u2019s just more imagination, there\u2019s more curiosity here.\u201d<\/p>\n Recruitment is ongoing<\/p>\n In April, CalHR announced a campaign<\/a> to recruit displaced federal workers by offering several resources to candidates, including application assistance and examples<\/a> of state jobs with federal equivalency. As of Friday afternoon, the state\u2019s online jobs board listed 2,899 open positions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe State of California continues to support the recruitment of the federal workforce, and CalHR maintains its commitment to providing resources and information to federal workers to ease their transition to the state,\u201d Monica Erickson, who was appointed as the director of CalHR Thursday, said in a statement.<\/p>\n