MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Federal employees at Federal Correction Complex (FCC) Hazelton have appeared to have started leaving their posts with concerns that more will follow them.
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 420 President Justin Tarovisky offered an update on the current status of morale for employees at the prison on WAJR’s Talk of the Town Monday, where he stated some medical personnel have already made formal resignations from their posts, with potentially more to follow in the coming weeks. The resignations are in response to planned cuts in special recruitment and retention pay by the Trump administration announced last week.
“Last week, there was one that definitely resigned in the health services department, and there were others that were rumored to be doing that,” said Tarovisky on the current state of morale at FCC Hazelton in response to the bonus cuts. “Because they said, ‘Well, if they’re not going to get that retention, or if they did have it and it was cut,’ they’re possibly thinking about doing something else,” he said.
According to Tarovisky, the planned cuts in retention and recruitment bonuses are expected to directly influence staff in every aspect of operations at FCC Hazleton. With bonuses of up to 25 percent expected to at least be cut in half, staff at Hazelton ranging from medical personnel to guards have begun to re-evaluate their futures at the prison, either considering a transfer to a different location within the federal corrections system or a move to the private sector. With efforts such as a picket taking place in late 2023 to support staffing levels that lead to forced mandatory overtime for guards at the prison, the move to cut the bonuses aimed to help with staff shortages is considered a major punch to the gut for those employees at FCC Hazelton.
“It’s always a blow to your morale when you’re being cut from 25 to 12.5 (percent bonuses), especially when those cuts didn’t even take hold for an entire year,” said Tarovisky.
Aside from employees at FCC Hazelton who are expressing frustration in the impending cuts, Tarovisky added that legislatures on a federal level have also voiced displeasure in the decision that affected not only employees but also the efforts to account for retention and recruitment bonuses. Among them is U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who was a major advocate for the allocation of retention and recruitment bonuses by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Office of Personnel Management in 2024. This response, Tarovisky feels, could carry over with actions in Washington.
“Senator Capito’s office is not happy about it,” said Tarovisky on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “I reached out to Senator Justice (his office) and also (Congressman) Riley Moore, and I know they support law enforcement, and Ms. Capito immediately made a statement saying that she was unaware of the cuts, and she’s not happy with that either,” he said.
As of this writing, FCC Hazleton is currently short-staffed by just over 80 officers, with 20 more officers expected to join as part of the new round of hires that took place before the announcement of the cuts. Tarovisky added that those numbers could be positively affected even further with the impending closure of Federal Prison Camp Morgantown, which could potentially add another 20 officers to the Hazelton staff pending any changes as a result of the bonus cuts. With several efforts taking place over the past two years to help operate one of the most dangerous prisons in the United States, Tarovisky hopes that officials on a federal level will consider making adjustments to the large-scale cuts.
“The tools are here for us to utilize in great need, and at Hazelton, the numbers are worse than a lot of other places, especially out west,” said Tarovisky. “So just cutting it less than a year in, hopefully Senator Capito or Senator Justice can get on board with that and stop it,” he said.