Displaced Federal Employees 'Strongly Encouraged' For State Jobs Under Bills

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/29/2025) The resumes for federal employees laid off from their jobs and military veterans would get pushed to the top of the pile for state and local government jobs under legislation House Democrats introduced Tuesday with support from organized labor.

Rep. Denise Mentzer (D-Mount Clemens)'s HB 4758 requires each Michigan Works! agencies to work with the Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to create a team specializing in the reemployment of federal employees who lost their jobs under President Donald Trump's scaling back of the federal bureaucracy from 2025 to 2027.

Under Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Belleville)'s HB 4759, state and local governments would be “strongly encouraged” to hire a “dislocated federal employee” if they receive a referral from the state's new reemployment team.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber said he's grateful the House Democrats are "taking action to aid federal workers who have been discarded and undervalued by the Trump administration, especially given the fact so many of them are veterans. I hope the Michigan Legislature will treat federal workers with the respect they deserve and pass this much-needed legislation.”

Bieber said he's concerned that “Trump is coming for the rights of all workers next.”