VDH to lay off 14 employees from the Office of Drinking Water

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - 14 people are being laid off from Virginia’s Office of Drinking Water due to a $1.4 million budgeting error.

A spokesperson with the Virginia Department of Health confirmed 11 full-time and three wage employees will be laid off effective January 9, 2022.

This is part of the department’s plan to resolve the deficit, which was an internal error.

One of the affected employees reached out to WDBJ7, telling us the six field offices are in shock, and are already short-staffed, wondering if this will affect the quality of public drinking water.

“I can confirm that an internal budgeting error within the Office of Drinking Water has resulted in a $1.4 million budget deficit. VDH has developed a plan to resolve this deficit, which unfortunately will result in personnel layoffs for 11 full-time and three wage employees, effective January 9, 2022.
VDH is actively working with the Office of Drinking Water to make sure that the work within the affected programs is covered and prioritized. Due to DHRM policies, we are unable to provide any additional information regarding personnel matters, but the affected employees will be offered severance benefits in accordance with state policy.”
Maria Reppas, Virginia Department of Health spokesperson

This is a developing story.