Trump Administration’s Plan for Mass Firing of Federal Workers During Government Shutdown Violates Law, Unions Say
AFSCME, AFGE file lawsuit challenging administration’s reduction-in-force plans
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Government Employees today filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s threats of a mass firing of federal employees in the event of a government shutdown.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit asserts that the Office of Management and Budget, through its Director Russ Vought, violated the law through its threats to engage in the mass firing of federal workers during a shutdown. The lawsuit also names as defendants the Office of Personnel Management and its Director Scott Kupor, which issued unlawful and unprecedented instructions that federal employees may perform work during the federal government shutdown in order to carry out mass RIFs.
AFSCME and AFGE are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Forward, and the Democracy Defenders Fund.
The lawsuit alleges that the administration’s plan to fire federal employees during a shutdown is an unlawful abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress. For decades, shutdowns have meant that employees are either furloughed without pay but guaranteed back pay, or they are deemed “excepted” and required to keep working until funding is restored to pay them. The OMB memorandum breaks from this long-standing framework, directing agencies to issue mass RIF notices that could strip employees of back pay rights, violate agencies’ statutory duties, and even target workers whose jobs are essential to protecting life and property during a shutdown. In doing so, the administration is misusing the shutdown process for partisan ends and violating the very laws that govern how shutdowns are supposed to function.
“The Trump administration is once again breaking the law to push its extreme Project 2025 agenda, illegally targeting federal workers with threats of mass firings due to the federal government shutdown,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “If these mass firings take place, the people who keep our skies safe for travel, our food supply secure, and our communities protected will lose their jobs. We will do everything possible to defend these AFSCME members and their fellow workers from an administration hell-bent on stripping away their collective bargaining rights and jobs.”
“Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal – it’s immoral and unconscionable,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Federal employees dedicate their careers to public service – more than a third are military veterans – and the contempt being shown them by this administration is appalling.”
“President Trump is using the civil service as a bargaining chip as he marches the American people into a government shutdown. Federal workers do the work of the people and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful. That is why we have sued today,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Since inauguration, this administration has pursued a harmful Project 2025 agenda, attacking community programs and charities, lawyers, schools, private companies, law firms, judges, universities, public servants, and the programs, foundations, and civil servants working to deliver services to people and keep communities safe. No one’s lives have been made easier or better by these actions, and we will continue to meet these attacks in court. We are honored to again represent AFGE and AFSCME in protecting the American people from the Trump-Vance administration’s callous and unlawful agenda.”
“The Trump administration must not be allowed to use a shutdown as an excuse for yet another illegal attack on federal workers,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The Vought memo is not only unlawful, it's just plain wrong. A shutdown will already do enough damage without adding improper firings to the mix. This lawsuit seeks to stop these outrageous actions.”
“The Trump administration’s threats to engage in mass firings of federal employees in order to gain political advantage and carry out its agenda to dismantle the federal government are in direct contravention of the laws that govern federal government shutdowns, including most notably the Anti-deficiency Act,” said Stacey Leyton of Altshuler Berzon LLP. “The administration must act within the constraints of applicable law, and we will ask the federal courts to hold them accountable to that obligation.”
The unions are asking the court to declare that OMB unlawfully exceeded its statutory authority in ordering the shutdown firings and to invalidate any actions agencies take pursuant to the order.
###
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing more than 820,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.