The Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun offering new appointments to disaster workers whose contracts were not renewed in January, reversing a controversial decision that prompted a lawsuit from labor unions, scientific groups, and local governments.
An attorney for the Trump administration informed a U.S. District Court on Friday evening that FEMA has initiated contact to offer new appointments to term-limited staff whose contracts expired in the first three weeks of January. The notice was submitted by U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian to the court in San Francisco.
This development follows months of uncertainty for FEMA's term-limited disaster workers, who constitute roughly half of the agency's workforce. It comes after news earlier this week that FEMA reinstated 14 employees who had been placed on paid administrative leave for eight months after signing a public letter of dissent criticizing policies of FEMA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
These actions are the latest signs that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is moving away from the harsher approach of his predecessor, Kristi Noem, who was fired as DHS leader. They also raise questions about whether the measures are a response to concerns that the disaster agency might not be prepared for the Atlantic hurricane season and major events like the FIFA World Cup.
FEMA did not immediately respond to questions about the court notice or the number of employees offered to return. On Thursday, a spokesperson told The Associated Press that while the agency does not comment on specific personnel actions, it is addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters.
FEMA's Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE) work on two- to four-year assignments, which are traditionally renewed routinely, allowing the agency to adjust capacity as needed. There are about 10,000 COREs. Current and former FEMA staffers told the AP that it is not uncommon for employees to work for decades or even retire in these term-limited appointments.
At the start of 2026, FEMA abruptly stopped renewing some CORE employees' contracts as they expired and extended others by only 90 days. The agency paused the nonrenewals in late January, just before a severe winter storm affected multiple states. By that time, 159 COREs had not been renewed, according to a sworn declaration by FEMA's temporary leader, Karen S. Evans.
A coalition led by the American Federation of Government Employees sued the administration, alleging the nonrenewals were part of a broader plan to cut FEMA's workforce by half and undermined the agency's congressional mandate for disaster preparedness. Evans denied any plan for blanket elimination of COREs and stated that the nonrenewals do not threaten FEMA's ability to perform its statutory mandate.
It is unclear how FEMA's decision will impact the lawsuit. Plaintiffs' lawyers said they would respond after proper factual investigation. They were scheduled to depose former DHS Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Guy next week as part of ongoing discovery into the decision-making behind the CORE dismissals.
A FEMA employee who requested anonymity said they knew of at least two COREs who had already been called back. FEMA officials also announced this week that COREs with contracts ending between January and May who were previously extended for 90 days may be reappointed for up to one year, along with those whose contracts end after May, according to an email to staff reviewed by the AP. Eligible FEMA reservists will be renewed for two years. Around 7,000 reservists have contracts expiring May 2.
Our readiness directly impacts our ability to help Americans in need, the email said, and every employee plays a critical role in meeting these challenges.
