Gov. Sam Brownback has ordered hundreds of workers reshuffled into new job positions at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and other agencies that documents show is based on a study the affected workers haven’t seen.An executive directive signed last week by Brownback abolishes 18 job classifications and replaces them with 16 new classifications. The positions affected range from environmental technicians to geologists and program services managers.
Several hundred workers are affected, Milburn said, though he couldn’t provide an exact number. The positions that were reclassified are primarily environmental jobs.The changes, which many employees indicate result in a lack of proper instruction as to what they are doing will mean a net loss of income for several. The division heavily hit in the Kansas Government, KDHE (Kansas Department of Health & Environment) has faced an ongoing challenge in a state where denial of things like climate science and the EPA come into play.