FEMA Is Reversing Job Cuts Made Under Kristi Noem

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reversing job cuts that Kristi Noem, the former homeland security secretary, had overseen before she was fired last month.

FEMA has reinstated 14 people who had signed a public letter that became known as the Katrina Declaration, which warned that the agency risked repeating mistakes learned during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Abby McIlraith, one of the reinstated workers and an emergency management specialist. Another 21 people who signed their namesare no longer at the agency, Ms. McIlraith said.

The agency has also begun calling disaster workers who were let go in January to offer them their jobs back, according to two people familiar with the actions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the move publicly. The agency parted ways with some 200 workers who served in temporary roles when their assignments came up for renewal in January. It was a major departure from past practices, and prompted unions to file a lawsuit against the agency, arguing that the dismissals violated FEMA’s statutory requirement to maintain readiness for disasters.

The agency is taking steps to “stabilize” its work force ahead of hurricane season, which begins in June, and the World Cup, with soccer matches to be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July, said Victoria L. Barton, a FEMA spokeswoman.

“Under new leadership, FEMA is addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure work force stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters,” Ms. Barton said in an email.

Markwayne Mullin, the former Republican senator from Oklahoma, took over as homeland security secretary in late March. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.