20 States Take Legal Action Against Federal Agencies Over Mass Layoffs
The states claim they have suffered due to the mass layoffs and are seeking a court order to reinstate the dismissed workers.
On March 6, Maryland, California, and 18 other state attorneys general initiated a lawsuit against nearly twenty federal agencies from President Donald Trump’s administration, demanding the reinstatement of tens of thousands of recently laid-off employees.
According to the lawsuit, the mass layoffs of probationary workers are unlawful as the agencies have failed to meet the legal obligations associated with reductions in force (RIFs), as stated by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and other attorneys general.
One of the legal obligations includes providing a 60-day advance notice to both workers and states.
The states assert they have been adversely affected as they are finding it challenging to determine which agencies have executed layoffs and which terminated workers require state assistance. They also mention that the laid-off workers have sought unemployment benefits and other social services.
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The states are requesting the court to mandate the 21 agency defendants to halt the mass terminations of probationary employees and to reinstate those dismissed on or after January 20, the date Trump assumed office.
The U.S. Department of Justice, representing federal agencies in legal matters, did not respond to a request for comment made early in the morning.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that OPM, which had been issuing directives to agencies to fire probationary employees, lacks the authority to hire or terminate employees beyond its own agency.
“Please be advised that OPM is not instructing agencies to take any particular performance-related actions regarding probationary employees through this memorandum,” the revised memorandum noted. “Agencies retain the ultimate authority and responsibility for such personnel decisions.”
