Unions representing workers at federal agencies like EPA are asking the courts to immediately block the Trump administration’s threat to conduct mass layoffs during the government shutdown.
In a Saturday request for a temporary restraining order, the unions said the courts must act quickly to stop the administration from using the lapse in federal funding as an opportunity to authorize a reduction in force — or RIF — that could affect an unknown number of workers at a swath of agencies, including the departments of Energy and Agriculture.
“The administration’s latest outrage against the Constitution and human decency is abusing the government shutdown to put in motion the firing of government workers,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, one of the groups representing the unions in the litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
“But Trump and his team have no such legal authority,” Eisen continued. “On the contrary, Congress has dictated strict limits for personnel matters during a shutdown and the president and the administration are trampling them. We are seeking emergency relief in response.”
