Bipartisan Interest to Protect Federal Workers from Layoff
Congress is considering a proposal to reverse some federal employee layoffs as part of a deal to reopen government, lawmakers said on Thursday, as negotiations continue to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. GovExec
Shutdown layoffs indefinitely blocked!
A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from carrying out layoffs during the government shutdown, saying the president’s actions were likely unlawful and taken for the purposes of political retribution.
The White House’s argument that agencies are no longer required to carry out certain programs during a shutdown is incorrect, San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said, and the administration did not have the authority to order cuts at specific agencies. Illston’s preliminary injunction will prevent both new RIFs from being issued and pause any implementation of the roughly 4,000 layoffs that agencies have already ordered.
The judge said she would clarify the exact scope of the order later on Tuesday in writing, but added in essence federal agencies “are enjoined from issuing any more RIF notices.” Michael Velchik, a Justice Department attorney arguing on behalf of the administration, asked that cuts in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Interior Department not be included in the order as those layoffs were underway long before the shutdown commenced. Illston said she would likely hold a further evidentiary hearing to make that determination.
USPTO already sent RIF notices to about 1% of its workforce, while Interior is planning to lay off thousands of workers.
“Our team is honored to represent the civil servants who are fighting back against President Trump’s dangerous agenda, and to have won this crucial injunction that will help stop federal workers from continuing to be targeted and harassed by this administration during the shutdown,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, who is leading the lawsuit on behalf of the several unions who brought it.
Illston noted the declarations submitted to the court were “very affecting,” citing a Housing and Urban Development Department worker who received a layoff notice earlier this month and said he had “never gone through any as traumatizing as what I am now experiencing” including his combat service. She also noted another employee who said she would not be able to afford surgery related to a liver transplant if their RIF took effect.
In addition to the “statutes and administrative procedure and the like, we are also talking about human lives and these human lives are being dramatically affected by the activities that we are discussing this morning,” Illston said.
She added it was “ironic” the administration may be violating the Antideficiency Act—the 19th century law that governs federal spending during a shutdown—by carving out human resources employees from furloughs so they could carry out RIFs. She also cited Trump’s and Office of Management and Director Russ Vought’s claims that RIFs would target “Democrat programs” in saying the cuts were intended as “political retribution.”
For the government’s part, Velchik argued that it was “obviously true” that if Congress does not explicitly fund a program, the executive branch should not carry it out. Additionally, he said, RIFs are permitted before, during or after a shutdown. During a funding lapse, however, the government has “all the more reason” to engage in layoffs, he said. Such an approach was not “arbitrary and capricious,” but instead “good policy” because the impacted employees are furloughed and incurring future obligations including back pay when the government reopens.
The argument could raise eyebrows in legal circles as the Trump administration has for the last several weeks suggested it is not required to offer back pay—despite a 2019 law that explicitly requires it—and Congress must instead affirmatively act to authorize it.
Velchik further argued that because Trump previously used the “you’re fired,” catchphrase, he should have the authority to carry out mass layoffs across the federal workforce.
“Like, this is what they voted for,” Velchik said. “Above all else, this is what he’s known for doing.”
Danielle Leonard, an attorney at Altshuler Berzon representing the plaintiffs, said the government was making an absurd argument that it could lay off the entire federal workforce if the government were shut down for one day. She lamented that the administration has not been more forthcoming with information about where more RIFs are planned and asked Illston to compel the government to make more details available.
Illston said she was still weighing whether to grant that request but thought the government made a strong argument that it should be required to do so.
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/10/shutdown-layoffs-indefinitely-blocked-following-new-court-injunction/409120/?oref=govexec_news_alert_nl
This Week’s Update
As we approach the one-month mark since the start of the government shutdown, here’s a rundown of actions AFGE and our allies are taking to challenge the administration’s actions and provide you and your families with the resources and support you need during this difficult time: /https://www.afge.org/article/shutdown-update-5-things-to-know-this-week/
AFGE Victory Against Layoffs
AFGE File’s Lawsuits Over RIF Threats During Furlough
AFGE sued the administration over the Antideficiency Act, which DOES NOT allow for the extension of layoffs during a lapse in appropriations. Click here to read the full article.
Trump’s Pay Freeze Plan
OMB originally indicated that the President would pursue a pay freeze for federal workers in 2026. Still, while he has authorized a 1% pay raise for Federal employees, locality pay will NOT increase. More details can be found on Fedsmith.
Members should lobby Congress to get involved and message your representative encouraging them to support federal employees.
Agencies Must Pause RIF Actions
Most major agencies must pause RIFs for at least two weeks, judge orders
Court finds the Trump administration has likely acted unlawfully in instituting widespread layoffs.
Federal agencies cannot take any action to implement its widespread layoff plans across government after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration has likely acted unlawfully in ordering the staffing reductions.
The pause came in the form of a temporary restraining order and will last at least 14 days, Judge Susan Illston for the U.S. Court for the Northern District of California ruled Friday evening, meaning agencies cannot issue any reduction-in-force notices through May 23. The order came as several agencies, such as the Interior Department, Agriculture and others, were expected to begin implementing large-scale layoffs in the coming days.
The order prevents agencies from implementing their Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans, previously mandated by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget, and President Trump’s executive order that precipitated them. It applies to OMB and OPM, as well as the departments of Agriculture Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Treasury, Transportation and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to AmeriCorps, the Environmental Protection Agency, the General Services Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, the National Science Foundation, the Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration.
The plaintiffs, made up of federal employee unions, nonprofit groups and local governments, are likely to succeed on the merits of the case, Illston said, because “the president has neither constitutional nor, at this time, statutory authority to reorganize the executive branch.” Presidents can and have undertaken large-scale reorganization efforts, the judge said, but they must work collaboratively with Congress to do so.
“Federal courts should not micromanage the vast federal workforce, but courts must sometimes act to preserve the proper checks and balances between the three branches of government,” Illston said.
The Trump administration defended the actions because the president did issue mandates for specific actions and OMB and OPM only provided guidance for how agencies should conduct RIFs. In reality, however, Illston said the evidence demonstrates agencies are “acting at the direction of the president and his team.”
She added Congress has not provided OPM or OMB with any authority to order other agencies to institute mass terminations at federal agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the RIF plans throughout government, has “no statutory authority at all,” the judge said.
“DOGE therefore could not have been acting pursuant to statutory authority in ordering large-scale RIFs of the workforces at the defendant federal agencies,” Ilston said.
In addition to pausing the RIFs, agencies will have to submit their layoff plans—both those they proposed and the versions approved by OPM and OMB—by Tuesday. Agencies have not provided those plans publicly, though details in many cases have been leaked. The court will hold a hearing for a potential longer-lasting preliminary hearing on May 22.
Agencies are currently in various stages of issuing layoffs, though tens of thousands of employees have already been affected. If agencies follow through with plans on the scope directed by Trump and the White House, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are expected to exit government through RIFs and incentivized attrition.
AFGE, Allies Sue to Stop Trump’s Unconstitutional Reorganization of Government, RIFs
AFGE led a coalition of nationwide labor organizations, non-profit groups, and local cities and counties in California, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington in suing the Trump administration over its unlawful government reorganization and massive reduction in force.
This is the largest and most significant challenge to Trump’s attempt to remake the government without congressional approval.
The case seeks a court’s intervention to stop the implementation of the President’s unlawful Executive Order 14210 (Implementing the President’s ‘‘Department of Government Efficiency’’ Workforce Optimization Initiative), which violates the Constitution’s fundamental separation of powers principles.
Trump required federal agencies to submit for approval agency Reductions in Force and Reorganization Plans on April 14.
On May Day, we also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that would halt the unlawful reorganization of the federal workforce.
“The President does not possess authority to reorganize, downsize, or otherwise transform the agencies of the federal government, unless and until Congress authorizes such action,” said the coalition. “Since the founding of the nation, federal courts have recognized that the federal agencies are not created by the President.”
AFGE President Everett Kelley said the Trump administration’s reckless attempt to dismantle our government without congressional approval threatens vital services Americans depend on every day – from caring for veterans and safeguarding public health, to protecting our environment and maintaining national security.
“This illegal power grab would gut federal agencies, disrupt communities nationwide, and put critical public services at risk,” he said. “AFGE is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this coalition to protect not just the patriotic public servants we represent, but the integrity of American government and the essential services that our nation deserves.”
The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward, Altshuler Berzon LLP, Protect Democracy, the Public Rights Project, and State Democracy Defenders Fund.
Besides AFGE and our four locals, the coalition includes the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU Local 1000; Alliance for Retired Americans, American Geophysical Union; American Public Health Association; Center for Taxpayer Rights; Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks; Common Defense; Main Street Alliance; NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council); Northeast Organic Farming Association Inc.; VoteVets; Western Watersheds Project; City and County of San Francisco, California; County of Santa Clara, California; City of Chicago, Illinois; City of Baltimore, Maryland; Harris County, Texas; and King County, Washington. The case, AFGE v. Trump, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Email & Text Message Sent to Members of AFGE 1658 Members Who had their Union Dues stopped by the Agency
April 17, 2025
AFGE Local 1658 Member,
I am writing all Members who have not yet signed up for AFGE E-Dues. With no advance notice to Local 1658, DoD directed DFAS to discontinue Payroll Deductions for Union Dues. You will see that there were no Union Dues withheld from your pay that you received today, April 17, 2025, for the pay period that ended on April 5,2025 (or check your Leave and Earnings statement).
If you want to remain a member of AFGE Local 1658, you must enroll in E-Dues now. We want to keep you as a Union Member, and we need your support now more than ever. With all the draconian measures being enacted by the administration against Unions and Federal Employees, you should want to stay with us now more than ever and allow us to continue to fight for you in the Courts, on Capitol Hill, and in the workplace.
To enroll in E-Dues, simply click on this link:
and fill out the online form.
Or Scan the QR Code
AFGE National charges the Local a “Per Capita Tax” (PCT) of $21.41 per month for each Member of the Local. This allows AFGE to continue to provide their Legal, Legislative and Representational support to Locals and Members. Local 1658 cannot afford to pay the PCT
without your dues payment and the only way to make a regular and recurring dues payment now is through E-Dues, so please sign up.
AFGE charges the PCT on all Members who are on the Local’s roles on the last day of the month. If you don’t switch to E-Dues, we will reluctantly be forced to drop you as a Member. We absolutely don’t want to do that, so please join E-Dues now. Of course, we’ll still
give you our little $25 Rebate as a final incentive to switch to E-Dues.
Sincerely and in Solidarity,
Joe Dolan
Local Treasurer
AFGE Local 1658
Zedrick Brown
President
AFGE Local 1658
p.s. There is one other option to pay your Dues. Our By-Laws allows you to make a direct payment of Dues on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, Call Office Manager Echo Hunt on 586-282-6102 if you want to exercise this option.
