A federal judge in San Francisco has put a stop to mass layoffs of federal employees that were linked to the government shutdown. This decision came after Judge Susan Illston temporarily paused thousands of layoffs that unions, like the American Federation of Government Employees, challenged in court.
In court, a Justice Department attorney defended these layoffs, arguing that the government can act freely during a funding lapse. “If you don’t have money coming in, you should be looking for ways to cut costs,” he said. However, the plaintiffs argued that the shutdown doesn’t give the government the right to ignore congressional mandates.
The judge expressed concern about the real impact on people. Employee testimonies she read revealed the emotional strain of receiving layoff notices. One Air Force veteran described the situation as more traumatic than her combat experiences. Many employees, like Mayra Medrano from the Commerce Department, have faced layoffs before and described the ongoing stress as overwhelming. Medrano noted that the constant threat of layoffs had detrimental effects on her health.
According to a 2023 speech by budget director Russell Vought, the administration’s approach is to instill fear among federal workers, which many see as a harmful tactic. In an earlier interview, Vought mentioned that over 10,000 people might receive layoff notices during the shutdown.
Despite Judge Illston’s order, layoffs are still a concern. In August, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor projected about 300,000 federal workers would leave by the year’s end, with 80% of those departures being voluntary. This means around 60,000 workers were already facing layoffs before the shutdown began.
The impact of these layoffs goes beyond financial stress; it deeply affects worker mental health and job security. As public sentiment on social media grows around the fate of federal jobs, it’s clear that this issue resonates widely.
For more on the effects of government shutdowns and federal job security, see NPR’s analysis.
