The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association last week successfully prevented the imminent firing of more than 250 State Department employees pending a hearing on a lawsuit the unions filed in the case.
On Dec. 3, AFGE and AFSA filed a supplemental complaint and an emergency request for a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from carrying out mass terminations of federal workers in clear violation of legislation passed by Congress that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Section 120 of the continuing resolution bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on Nov. 12 prohibits federal agencies from initiating, implementing, or carrying out any reduction-in-force (RIF) for the duration of the law, which currently extends through Jan. 30, 2026. The bill also requires that any RIF “noticed, initiated, executed, implemented, or otherwise taken” during the shutdown be rescinded. Nevertheless, a few federal agencies have refused to reinstate employees who were improperly terminated and have continued to notify employees that they will be separated before the end of January.
Most recently, the State Department notified more than 250 of its Foreign Service and civil service employees on Dec. 1 that they would be terminated that Friday, Dec. 5 – carrying out reduction-in-force notices that were previously issued but paused due to the shutdown.
Because of the imminent mass firing at the State Department, the unions asked District Judge Susan Illston to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the department from carrying out the planned Dec. 5 terminations – which Judge Illston granted on Dec. 4. We are also asking to reverse other unlawful RIF actions at the Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, and the Education and Defense departments. A hearing on our request for a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for Dec. 17.
“In voting to end the longest-ever government shutdown, Congress clearly stated that no federal employees should lose their jobs due to a reduction-in-force for the duration of the continuing resolution. This means that no RIF should be issued or acted upon, and any RIF terminations that occurred during the shutdown must be reversed,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “The language in the bill and the intent of Congress is unambiguous – and so is the illegality of agencies proceeding to fire workers regardless of the prohibition. Because this administration continues to defy the law, the courts must intervene and protect these illegal terminations from proceeding.”
The supplemental complaint and TRO request are part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by AFGE and a coalition of unions challenging the administration’s unlawful mass firings of federal employees during and following the government shutdown. AFGE and AFSA are represented in this action by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Democracy Forward.
Click here for an update on AFGE’s litigation against the Trump administration.
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