The Hawaii worker who ‘pressed the wrong button’ has been reassigned

The worker who sent a false missile alert to Hawaiian residents on Jan. 13 has reportedly been reassigned.

The civil defense employee has been moved to another role but was not fired, according to multiple media reports.

In a press conference on Jan. 13, the head of Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency, Vern Miyagi, said the worker "feels terrible."

"This guy feels bad, right. He's not doing this on purpose — it was a mistake on his part and he feels terrible about it," Miyagi said.

Also Read: Hawaii just released a guide on how to survive a nuclear attack from North Korea

The worker had been completing a shift change at the time of the alert and, according to the Washington Post, was using a drop-down menu that gave two similar options: "Test missile alert" and "Missile alert." Instead of selecting a system test, the worker sent a real alert.

Hawaii Governor David Ige confirmed on the weekend that the employee had "pushed the wrong button."

At the Jan. 13 press conference, Miyagi made it clear that to send such an alert, someone would have to go through two steps, including a screen that says "Are you sure you want to do this?"

The Post also confirmed that there are no plans to fire the employee.

Ige released a statement on Jan. 14 saying that "steps have been taken" to improve the alert process and that a false alarm "will never happen again."