US judge orders Trump administration to stop layoffs and bring back workers fired during shutdown

ISTANBUL

A US federal judge ordered the Trump’s administration on Wednesday to bring back thousands of employees who were laid off during the recent government shutdown to their same jobs with the same pay, and stop ongoing layoffs, the Washington Times reported.

Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California underlined that a law signed by US President Donald Trump last month forbids reductions in force, or RIFs.

She gave the government until next Tuesday to comply her preliminary injunction, which is enough time for the Justice Department to appeal, she said.

During the six-week shutdown, Trump claimed he had the power to fire workers, not merely furlough them, as was standard practice during previous shutdowns. Labor unions and Democratic lawmakers said using the shutdown as an excuse to fire federal workers was illegal.

Illston also dismissed the State Department’s claim that the cuts had begun well before the shutdown, which began in October and lasted for 43 days. Illston ruled that the stopgap spending bill, or continuing resolution, passed by Congress to reopen the government is sufficiently broad to prohibit any reductions, regardless of when they were initiated.

Everett Kelley, head of the American Federation for Government Employees, called the ruling a “another victory” for federal employees and the rule of law.

“The administration’s continued defiance of that mandate is part of a troubling pattern of egregious actions against federal employees and the American public,” he said.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement over health care subsidies. Since then, the Trump administration has issued thousands of RIF notices and reduced grants to multiple agencies and organizations.

ISTANBUL

Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California underlined that a law signed by US President Donald Trump last month forbids reductions in force, or RIFs.

She gave the government until next Tuesday to comply her preliminary injunction, which is enough time for the Justice Department to appeal, she said.

Everett Kelley, head of the American Federation for Government Employees, called the ruling a “another victory” for federal employees and the rule of law.

“The administration’s continued defiance of that mandate is part of a troubling pattern of egregious actions against federal employees and the American public,” he said.