U.S. Agency for International Development staff have been given one week of reprieve after a federal court judge said he would block the agency from placing thousands on administrative leave at 11:59 pm on Friday as had been originally planned.
“All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until February 14, 2025 at 11:59 PM, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date,” read an internal email obtained by Devex.
On Friday night, some staff who had previously been locked out of their systems started to regain access to their accounts. Others — even by Saturday morning — remained locked out, and still hadn’t seen the message. The notice came amid a whirlwind of confusion, chaos, and upheaval, and at the same time that many staff were scrambling to figure out whether they needed to evacuate their posts across the world.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
