Washington Senate Bill Hopes to Put Terminated Federal Workers in New Roles

With more and more federal employees finding themselves out of work every day, a recent bill introduced in the Washington State Senate hopes to help some of those displaced workers land on their feet.

Introduced on Feb. 19, Senate Bill 5767 “would establish priority consideration for federal employees who lost their jobs” as a result of the mass government firings that the Department of Government Efficiency has overseen in recent weeks, according to a statement from Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, a Democrat from Seattle, and a co-sponsor of the bill.

“Trump’s policies have negatively impacted hardworking federal employees, threatening their job security and financial stability,” Saldaña said of the legislation, noting that the bill’s focus is similar to the state’s existing veterans’ preference hiring practices.

“Here in this Washington, we’re taking concrete steps to support and uplift them, making sure those who’ve dedicated their careers to serving the public can continue their service in our state government.”

The bill, which has been referred to the Washington Senate’s government, tribal affairs and elections committee for consideration, is meant to ensure that affected federal workers receive priority consideration for state agency roles as well as advantages in promotion processes.

Ultimately, the legislation seeks to provide federal employees affected by recent mass firings and layoffs with a pathway to state service, as well as ensuring that the state of Washington’s public sector workforce “remains diverse, capable and well-equipped to serve all Washingtonians,” according to Saldaña’s statement.

“It’s our responsibility to ensure that federal workers’ experience and dedication to public service are not overlooked,” she said, “while also strengthening our state’s public workforce.”