The judge backs theAmerican Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) request for the ruling to counter OMB Vought’s union busting threats with the Govt. Shutdown as a excuse…..
A federal judge has indefinitely blocked President Trump’s efforts to lay off thousands of federal employees amid the government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, an appointee of former President Clinton, sided with government employee unions that asked her to bar the administration from carrying out the reductions in force (RIFs) as the lawsuit moves forward. More than 4,000 workers were set to be impacted by the job actions.
The preliminary injunction extends Illston’s previous order temporarily stopping the administration’s attempted layoffs, which she has said she believes will ultimately be deemed illegal and an overstep of executive authority.
The judge said she would issue a written order but that the injunction is “in effect.”….
…
OMB Director Russell Vought said earlier this month that the administration could ultimately lay off more than 10,000 federal employees during the shutdown.
The Justice Department has so far declined to offer a legal defense of the planned layoffs, instead contending that agency adjudicators like the Merit Systems Protection Board are better suited to remedy the harms at play than courts.
Another union that sued, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said after the ruling that it marked a victory for federal workers and ongoing efforts “to protect their jobs from an administration hellbent on illegally firing them.” …..
Over at the Defense Dept….
The Pentagon has pulled key protections for its civilian personnel, directing managers to move with “speed and conviction” to fire underperforming workers, according to a memo issued one day before the U.S. government shut down.
“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction to facilitate the separation from Federal service of employees performing unsuccessfully,” states a Sept. 30 memo signed by the Pentagon’s top personnel policy officer, Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata….
…
The new guidelines, which became public Tuesday, have sparked fears that they could be used to push out anyone at the Pentagon who doesn’t agree with or toe the line on the Trump administration’s programs….
…
Nearly half of the Defense civilian workforce — about 334,900 employees — have been furloughed for the shutdown, according to the department’s contingency plan released last month….
…
The Trump administration has attempted to fire thousands of furloughed employees while the government is closed — part of the president’s bid to greatly reduce the federal workforce in his second term — but the move has been blocked by a California federal court that found such cuts were likely illegal.
At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been on the warpath in ousting those seen as standing in the way of President Trump’s agenda, which includes bringing a “warrior ethos” back to the U.S. military.
“The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy,” Hegseth told hundreds of generals and admirals last month in an unprecedented speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia….
…
Employees targeted for firing now have just seven days to challenge unfavorable review.
The sped-up firing process comes after Hegseth earlier this year ordered the Pentagon’s workforce to be cut by nearly 8 percent, or about 60,000 personnel, via voluntary buyouts and attrition…..
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.