TOMAH, Wis. (WEAU) – The future is unclear for six probationary workers that were fired from the Tomah VA Medical Center in late February now that a federal judge is ordering the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees across several federal agencies.
“I really enjoyed my work. The vets do so much for us, they sacrifice so much for us,” said Sheila Sommerfield. “I was a filing clerk.”
She was one of the six workers who got the letter from the higher-ups at the Department of Veteran Affairs she was let go due to “unsatisfactory” performance. “I was an exceptional worker. We had to do 50 filings a day. I was exceeding that,” said Sommerfield.
“I’ve worked here for 41 years. Nothing like this has ever happened,” said Lin Ellinghuysen. She was a nurse at the medical center and now works as a leader for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 0007. The union agreed to help employees like Sommerfield with legal representation and help try to get their jobs back. The Trump administration however was ordered by a federal judge in California to reinstate said workers.
“You are exactly the first one to tell me this. I didn’t know this,” said Sommerfield, unaware of the news Thursday.
Ellinghuysen believes the medical staff needs workers like Sommerfield in order to effectively and completely focus on giving care to patients.
“They needed these assistants to help call the veterans, schedule the veterans, ensure all the paperwork was in order,” said Ellinghuysen. “And it’s very difficult to get new employees. We haven’t been hiring for months and months.”
“It’s been really hard. It’s affected me mentally and stressfully,” said Sommerfield. “I hope this is true and we get the call to go back.”
Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a veteran himself, said on February 28th he was assured by the Tomah VA Medical Center that healthcare to veterans has not been impacted. He said he would take action is that is no longer the case.
WEAU reached out to the Tomah VA Medical Center and was told it cannot comment further than stating some staff had been let go and healthcare to veterans would not be impacted. According to the medical center, it serves 26,000 veterans.
No word yet on if/when the probationary employees will get their jobs back.
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Future not yet clear for six probationary workers fired from Tomah VA Medical Center following federal judge’s order to reinstate employees
