A federal labor union initiated a lawsuit on Tuesday aimed at preventing the Trump administration from carrying out significant layoffs in the event of future government shutdowns. Normally, during these shutdowns, federal workers are temporarily left without duties, with only essential personnel remaining active, and they receive back pay once operations resume. However, officials from the Trump administration and the White House Budget Office have hinted at the possibility of permanent job losses if government funding lapses suddenly.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in San Francisco, claims that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has misinterpreted federal law.
The lawsuit argues, “The OMB’s memorandum regarding expiration is a partisan strategy to coerce Congressional members into complying with the Trump administration’s demands during negotiations over continuing resolutions, while threatening the unions representing them if they don’t yield to the President’s requirements.”
Oka attempted to get a response from the OMB regarding the matter.
This lawsuit stems from members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), including two local units and various other employees from federal, county, and local governments.
“It’s not just illegal; it’s also immoral and heartless to propose the dismissal of potentially tens of thousands of federal workers, simply because Congress and the administration can’t agree on government funding past the end of the fiscal year,” the union stated.
The union has engaged the San Francisco law firm Altshuler Berzon, along with two progressive legal organizations that often challenge the Trump administration: Democracy Forward and the state’s Democracy Advocates Fund.
This lawsuit emerged as a critical deadline for government action loomed.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Trump remarked, “We don’t want to shut it down. There are steps we can take that are irreversible, harmful for them, and irreversible during shutdowns, like letting a large number of people go and cutting what we need.”
