A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to nullify the terminations of federal employees at four federal agencies, saying they were implemented in clear violation of the bipartisan law that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
In a hearing Dec. 17, Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for Northern California agreed with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) that Section 120 of the continuing resolution 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 runs through Jan. 30, 2026.
Judge Illston’s order requires the administration to rescind reduction-in-force (RIF) notices issued to civil servants at the Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, and the State Department who received RIF notices that were implemented or carried out during and after the government shutdown. The order also forces the administration to halt planned RIFs at the Department of Education and the State Department. AFGE and AFSA previously secured a temporary restraining order to block 250 terminations at State that were set to take effect on Dec. 5.
The order is an important milestone in an ongoing lawsuit brought by a coalition of unions challenging the administration’s unlawful mass firings of federal employees during or because of the government shutdown. Those firings are being similarly blocked by a preliminary injunction. AFGE, AFSA, and NFFE are represented in this action by Democracy Forward, Altshuler Berzon LLP, and Democracy Defenders Fund.
In a joint press statement issued after the ruling, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said the decision represents another victory for federal employees and for the rule of law.
“When Congress voted to end the longest government shutdown in history, it spoke clearly and unambiguously that further reductions-in-force were prohibited, and any RIFs that occurred during the shutdown were required to be reversed. The administration’s continued defiance of that mandate is part of a troubling pattern of egregious actions against federal employees and the American public. We are grateful to the court for stepping in to uphold the law and protect federal workers,” Kelley said.
Click here for a summary of AFGE’s litigation against the Trump administration.
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