US Judge Plans To Block Hundreds Of Trump Admin Layoffs

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston stated during a court hearing that she would block the departments of State and Education from moving forward with approximately 250 and 150 layoffs, respectively.

The decision comes after a lawsuit filed in October by unions challenging the Trump administration’s plans to shrink the federal workforce.

Illston also noted she would require the rehiring of about 300 employees laid off amid the 43-day shutdown that began on Oct. 1 at the State Department, Defense Department, General Services Administration, and Small Business Administration.

“The chaotic nature of these [layoffs] has been continuing and has affected employees of the government in many ways, including loss of potential alternative jobs and loss of health care coverage,” Illston said.

She said she would issue a formal written order later Wednesday but anticipated postponing enforcement until next week to provide the government time to appeal her decision. Illston said she was concerned about causing “whiplash” for workers who have dealt with multiple layoffs and reinstatements already this year.

The ruling comes after a continuing resolution passed last month, preventing agencies from imposing layoffs until Jan. 30. The Trump administration argued that the ruling did not apply to cuts announced prior to the Oct. 1 shutdown but Illston concurred with the unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees.

The lawsuit, first filed in October, sought to prevent more than 4,000 layoffs across all agencies.

Illston previously stayed a restraining order in response to the union’s request, arguing that it is “far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party,” before referencing comments made by President Donald Trump on social media.

In late October, Illston extended an indefinite block on thousands of layoffs during the shutdown, which followed a temporary injunction earlier that month stopping shutdown-related layoffs. She then expanded the block on layoffs during the shutdown. She expanded the block to employees represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Association of Government Employees.

Her original Oct. 15 order had applied only to members of the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the unions that filed the lawsuit.

“The American people selected someone known above all else for his eloquence in communicating to employees that ‘you’re fired,’” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Velchik said at an Oct. 28 hearing. “This is what they voted for.”

The “You’re fired” line stems from Trump’s time on the reality television series “The Apprentice.” He used the catchphrase regularly.

In May, Illston prevented mass layoffs at the Department of Education, a move the administration tried to stop but chose not to appeal to the Supreme Court after withdrawing an attempt to do so.