Veterans Affairs staff brace for mandatory overtime mandate
May 18, 2025, 7:00 AM | Updated: May 19, 2025, 8:52 am
A person walks past the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters a block from the White House on March 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
Federal workers with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are now required to work mandatory overtime following recent federal cuts.
In an email obtained by KIRO Newsradio, VA leadership in Seattle recently told staff many employees will be subject to mandatory overtime, beginning May 18.
For many workers, that includes up to 25 hours of overtime per month.
The VA ended its mandatory overtime rule for most employees last summer, shifting to a system of mostly voluntary overtime. The VA has relied on mandatory overtime for the previous seven years to keep up with its increasing workload.
Several government employee unions filed a lawsuit intended to rescind the firing of tens of thousands of new employees in a federal workforce reduction ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration. The suite of lawsuits included reversing the dismissal of more than 1,000 workers terminated at the VA.
