A federal judge in San Francisco has indefinitely barred the Trump administration from carrying out mass reductions-in-force during the ongoing government shutdown, extending an earlier pause and affecting thousands of layoff notices issued since October 1.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday, October 28, converted a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that blocks the administration from implementing or issuing layoff notices at agencies where the plaintiff unions represent workers. Illston first paused the cuts nearly two weeks earlier, on October 15. NPR reported that her order applies to shutdown-related reductions-in-force at dozens of agencies. (kcbx.org)
From the bench, Illston underscored the human toll, reading from employee declarations — including one from an Air Force veteran who said the process was more traumatizing than a combat deployment — and remarking, “Human lives are being dramatically affected by the activities we’re discussing.” (kcbx.org)
Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik argued the executive branch may conduct RIFs before, during, or after a lapse in appropriations to reduce costs and advance policy priorities. Plaintiffs’ attorney Danielle Leonard countered that a funding lapse does not erase statutory mandates and said the government violated federal law by requiring RIF work during the shutdown, according to NPR’s account of the hearing. (kcbx.org)
Roughly 4,000 employees have received RIF notices since October 1, including at the Treasury Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NPR reported. After initial disputes over scope, Illston broadened her order to cover six additional unions and set another hearing to assess whether certain RIFs at the Interior and Education Departments were in fact tied to the shutdown. (kcbx.org)
Among the declarations before the court was testimony from Mayra Medrano, a program analyst at the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, who described a stress-induced seizure after an April RIF notice that a court later reversed in June. (kcbx.org)
Outside the courtroom, the American Federation of Government Employees — which says it represents more than 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers — urged the Senate on Monday, October 27, to pass a clean continuing resolution. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today… an avoidable crisis that is harming families, communities, and the very institutions that hold our country together,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley wrote. (afge.org)
As the shutdown drags on, about 1.4 million federal employees missed a full paycheck last week, according to analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center cited by Federal News Network and other outlets; many of those affected include essential workers such as TSA officers and air traffic controllers who must continue working without pay. (federalnewsnetwork.com)
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has repeatedly voted to advance measures to reopen the government and said he would back bipartisan steps to end the impasse; his office and local press have documented instances where he crossed the aisle on stopgap votes. Separately, the Daily Wire reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to comment when asked about AFGE’s statement. (fetterman.senate.gov)
House Speaker Mike Johnson has pressed the Senate to act, noting the House passed a short-term funding measure in mid-September that failed in the Senate. (politico.com)
The shutdown also threatens SNAP, the federal nutrition program that serves roughly 42 million people. USDA and multiple states have said no November benefits will be issued absent new federal funding starting Friday, November 1. (reuters.com)