Judge Demands Trump Administration Restore Employees Laid Off
Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California emphasized that legislation signed by US President Donald Trump last month prohibits reductions in force, or RIFs.
She established a deadline of next Tuesday for government compliance with her preliminary injunction, providing sufficient time for the Justice Department to file an appeal, she indicated.
Throughout the six-week government closure, Trump asserted authority to permanently terminate workers rather than temporarily furlough them—the established protocol during prior shutdowns. Labor unions and Democratic legislators argued weaponizing the shutdown to eliminate federal positions violated existing law.
Illston also rejected the State Department's assertion that workforce cuts commenced before the shutdown, which started in October and extended 43 days. Illston determined that the stopgap spending bill, or continuing resolution, enacted by Congress to restart government operations carries sufficient scope to ban any workforce reductions, irrespective of initiation timing.
Everett Kelley, head of the American Federation for Government Employees, characterized the decision as "another victory" for federal employees and the rule of law.
"The administration's continued defiance of that mandate is part of a troubling pattern of egregious actions against federal employees and the American public," he said.
The shutdown commenced October 1 after Congress deadlocked over health care subsidies. Subsequently, the Trump administration distributed thousands of RIF notices and slashed grants to numerous agencies and organizations.
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