Virginia Governor Reverses Decision To Fire 14 State Drinking Water Monitor Employees
In Virginia, an elected official has intervened to reverse a labor decision that might have had serious consequences for local drinking water quality.
“Gov. Ralph Northam’s press secretary … said the governor is reversing a decision by his health commissioner to lay off 14 people who monitor drinking water in Virginia,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. “The announcement saves the jobs of 11 full-time and three part-time employees in the state Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water.”
The scheduled layoffs were reportedly necessitated by a department of health budgeting error from 2019, which saw the office director approve compensation increases for 55 employees and open a new field office. The state’s health administrator had recently defended the layoffs, but pushback on reducing the state’s capacity to protect such a vital resource has apparently prompted the governor to take action.
“The Virginia Rural Water Association wrote a letter to the state that the layoffs would be ‘reckless and irresponsible’ and would have ‘lasting effects’ on the state’s ability to monitor drinking water systems,” according to NBC Washington.
And, in addition to intervening in these potential layoffs, the governor’s office has said it will be working with the necessary offices to ensure that budget confusion does not create a similar situation in the future.
“The Governor has directed the Department of Health and the Department of Planning and Budget to fix the Office of Drinking Water’s budget shortfall now so that no one will lose their positions — this office and these individuals are too important to do otherwise,” per a statement from the governor’s press secretary, shared by the Times-Dispatch. “The individuals affected are being notified now and we will work with the Office of Drinking Water to ensure their budget practices do not put them in this unfortunate position again.”
Though Virginia was close to losing a reported 180 years of combined experience in the high-priority field of drinking water safety, water systems across the country can appreciate that the state’s highest office saw the potential error before it was too late.
To read more about the individuals who work every day to ensure safe drinking water, visit Water Online’s Labor Solutions Center.