Judge Blocks Hundreds of Federal Layoffs During Shutdown, Orders Reinstatements
U.S. district judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued a ruling blocking about 250 layoffs at the State Department and 150 at the Education Department, pending a lawsuit filed by unions. She ordered the reinstatement of roughly 300 workers who had lost their jobs during the 43-day government shutdown at the Department of State, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and Small Business Administration.
The ruling is based on a continuing resolution passed last month which prohibits agencies from implementing layoffs through January 30, effectively halting job cuts made during the shutdown. The Trump administration had argued that the law did not apply to layoffs announced before the shutdown began on October 1, but Judge Illston rejected this argument.
The lawsuit, initially filed in October by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other unions, sought to block more than 4,000 layoffs across multiple federal agencies. While Illston expressed intent to possibly pause part or all of her ruling to allow for an appeal and prevent "whiplash" for federal workers, unions praised the decision. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
