The Interior Department says it has frozen its plans to “imminently” lay off employees for the duration of the federal government shutdown, according to court documents filed late Tuesday night.
Other executive branch agencies — including the Energy and Commerce departments and EPA — spelled out the number of staffers who already have been told they are being laid off during the shutdown, according to court documents filed late Tuesday night.
The Trump administration detailed its steps to execute reductions in force — the federal terminology for job cuts — to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. That court is considering a lawsuit filed by several major unions that are seeking to block layoffs during the shutdown.
Judge Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee, issued a preliminary injunction last week that barred federal agencies from moving forward with layoff plans if they included employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees and AFL-CIO, among others.
