Judge halts Trump's planned layoffs of federal workers during government shutdown, calling them unlawful

[pat_k]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Emile (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CNN

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the Trump administration to immediately halt its efforts to lay off roughly 4,100 federal workers during the government shutdown, saying the move is unlawful.

US District Judge Susan Illston said during a hearing Wednesday that she was granting a request from unions representing federal workers for an emergency order pausing the layoffs that began last Friday.

“As of right now, the (temporary restraining order) is in effect,” Illston said. The order, the judge said, bars the administration for now from moving ahead with any layoffs for members of several unions that sued over the plans, or issuing any new layoff notices for those unions’ members. It will remain in effect while the unions’ legal challenge plays out.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/politics/federal-worker-layoffs-shutdown-judge-unlawful

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Judge blocks Trump's layoffs during shutdown, calling them illegal

The administration began laying off federal workers last Friday.

Judge blocks Trump's layoffs during shutdown, calling them illegal www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

— couth (@couth11.bsky.social) 2025-10-15T20:11:31.935Z

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/judge-blocks-trumps-shutdown-layoffs-calling-illegal-rcna237837

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the government shutdown, which has now stretched to two weeks.

Two unions sued the Trump administration last month ahead of the shutdown after the White House signaled a plan to lay off workers through "reductions in force" (RIFs) at federal agencies. At a hearing on Wednesday, a federal judge in the Northern District of California granted the unions' motion to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the layoffs, which began on Friday.

“The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws," U.S. District Judge Susan Yvonne Illston said. “You can’t do this in a nation of laws.”

Illston said that the Trump administration had "taken advantage of the lapse in government spending and government functioning to assume that all bets are off, the laws don’t apply to them anymore, and they can impose the structures that they like on the government situation that they don’t like."

[Nictuku]

2. Yay 9th Circuit! HOLD THE LINE

HOLD THE LINE
HOLD THE LINE
HOLD THE LINE

[MichMan]

3. If they can't be laid off, does that mean they are required to report to work each day without pay?

Wouldn't they be eligible for unemployment if there was a layoff?

[pat_k]

4. Under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, or GEFTA...

... they are supposed to get back pay when the shutdown ends.

My guess is that most would prefer to received full compensation (even if delayed), not the percentage they would receive in unemployment compensation.

Unfortunately, as usual, the 47 regime is determined to screw people over with a "re-interpretation" of GEFTA and claims that back pay will only be paid if explicitly included in the budget passed that ends the shutdown.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2025/10/the-law-is-the-law-white-house-memo-on-pay-for-furloughed-employees-called-into-question/

[Emile]

5. After a review, locking.

This is a duplicate of the same news story posted earlier.

Duplicate of:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143548005