DOE IG REVIEWING ARRA-RELATED LAYOFFS AT HANFORD, SAVANNAH RIVER

The Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office is reviewing how DOE’s two largest cleanup sites—Hanford and the Savannah River Site—conducted layoffs of workers hired with Recovery Act funds. DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman disclosed the review in testimony yesterday at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. “The Department estimates that with the end of Recovery Act funding, over 4,000 workers at Environmental Management sites throughout the complex will be displaced by the end of 2011. As part of its plan to transition contract employees, the Department is offering a series of benefits including re-training, severance and other paid benefits. We are currently reviewing the Department’s workforce transition plans” at Hanford and Savannah River, Friedman said in his prepared testimony. He did not provide any additional details, or what exactly prompted the review.