FDA reverses course on telework after layoffs and resignations threaten basic operations

FDA to replace laid-off employees with contractors, sources say

Steep cuts to the agency's workforce had disrupted drug and food safety inspections.

Weeks after ordering all employees of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to return to the office, the agency is reversing the course, allowing some of its most valuable employees to work remotely amid concerns that recent layoffs and resignations could jeopardize basic functions, such as the approval of new drugs. An internal email obtained by The Associated Press states that FDA management is allowing review staff and supervisors to resume …

FDA worker from Frederick County put on leave worried if remaining staff can handle workload

On April 1, a Frederick County resident who works as a pharmacist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research found out she'd been placed on administrative leave as part of massive reductions to the…

FDA reverses RTO mandate and restores telework for key staff

Weeks after ordering all Food and Drug Administration employees back into the office, the agency is reversing course, allowing some of its most prized staffers to work remotely amid worries that recent layoffs and resignations could jeopardize basic functions, like approving new medicines. An internal email obtained by The Associated Press states that FDA leadership are “allowing review staff and supervisors to resume telework” at least two days…

RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff at FDA Spares People Working on Covid Vaccine Lawsuits

A purge of FDA staff spared some people tasked with responding to a judge’s orders to disclose government records on covid vaccines, according to agency employees. The FOIA litigation was brought by Aaron Siri, an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s who represents anti-vaccine interests.

FDA backpedals on RTO to stop talent hemorrhage after HHS bloodbath

With staff losses, there is real risk of “catastrophic collapse” of FDA reviews.