The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Tuesday that it mistakenly fired employees involved in the federal response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak over.
In a statement sent to Newsweek, the agency said it is working «swiftly» to reverse the weekend dismissals.
«Although several positions supporting [avian flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,» a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. «USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.»
Kilde: Newsweek