Key Takeaways:
- A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order to block the State Department from finalizing hundreds of employee layoffs.
- The order prevents the department from officially terminating over 200 employees, most of whom are Foreign Service officers.
- Federal employee unions are seeking to reverse more layoffs than agencies have allowed under a spending deal that ended the recent government shutdown.
- The unions claim that agencies are not fully adhering to a provision in the shutdown-ending spending bill that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out layoffs.
- The State Department plans to officially remove nearly 250 Foreign Service employees and several civil service employees whose separation dates were postponed.
Introduction to the Story
The recent government shutdown has had a significant impact on federal employees, with many facing layoffs and uncertainty about their future. In a recent development, a federal judge in San Francisco has granted a temporary restraining order to block the State Department from finalizing hundreds of employee layoffs. This order prevents the department from officially terminating over 200 employees, most of whom are Foreign Service officers. The order is a result of an emergency request filed by federal employee unions, who claim that the State Department’s actions are "imminent and unlawful."
The Lawsuit and the Temporary Restraining Order
The emergency request is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association. The lawsuit seeks to reverse "other unlawful RIF actions" at several agencies, including the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, and the departments of Education and Defense. The unions claim that these agencies are not fully adhering to a provision in the shutdown-ending spending bill that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out layoffs. The provision states that "any reduction in force proposed, noticed, initiated, executed, implemented, or otherwise taken by an executive agency between October 1, 2025, and the date of enactment, shall have no force or effect."
Agencies’ Interpretation of the Spending Bill
Agencies have followed a narrower interpretation of the stopgap spending bill, only reinstating federal employees who received RIF notices between October 1 and November 12. However, the unions claim that this interpretation is "significantly under-inclusive." The State Department sent RIF notices to nearly 1,350 employees in July, and most of those employees were officially separated from the agency in September. However, the department plans to officially remove nearly 250 Foreign Service employees and several civil service employees whose separation dates were postponed due to medical issues or recent childbirth.
The State Department’s Actions
The State Department claims that the continuing resolution’s layoff protections only apply to RIF notices that went out after October 1. However, the unions disagree, stating that the plain language of the continuing resolution prohibits any actions implementing any RIFs of any employees at any agency between November 12, 2025, and January 30, 2026. The unions also take issue with how the State Department modified the official separation date for impacted employees. Foreign Service employees were originally told they would be separated from the agency on November 10, but they received a notice on that date stating that they would remain on administrative leave due to "administrative errors."
The Unions’ Concerns
The unions leading the lawsuit claim that without a temporary restraining order, State Department employees and their families will suffer "irreparable harm," including a loss of income and health insurance benefits. AFGE National President Everett Kelley stated that "Congress clearly stated that no federal employees should lose their jobs due to a reduction-in-force for the duration of the continuing resolution." AFSA President John Dinkelman added that these "unlawful separations reveal a callous indifference to the rule of law and the people who carry out America’s diplomatic mission every day."
Conclusion
The temporary restraining order granted by the federal judge is a significant development in the ongoing lawsuit. The order prevents the State Department from finalizing hundreds of employee layoffs, and the unions will continue to seek to reverse more layoffs than agencies have allowed under the spending deal. The outcome of this lawsuit will have a significant impact on federal employees and their families, and it will be important to monitor the situation closely in the coming weeks and months.