A Federal appeals court on Friday upheld an order that indefinitely blocks the Trump administration from implementing its large-scale layoff plans – also known as reductions in force (RIFs) – at most Federal government agencies.
In a 2-1 opinion, the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the coalition of labor unions, nonprofits, and local governments that sued over the Trump administration’s RIFs.
The majority, led by Judge William Fletcher, wrote that the decision was made on factors such as “whether irreparable injury will result, whether the applicant has a strong likelihood of success on the merits, and whether the balance of interests favor a stay.” Judge Lucy Koh joined in the majority opinion.
“We conclude that all of the factors weigh in favor of Plaintiffs. We therefore deny the requested stay,” the opinion says.
Judge Consuelo Callahan dissented, writing, “Because Defendants have shown a likelihood of success and irreparable harm, we should have stayed the preliminary injunction.”
At issue was an order issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, which paused further implementation of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive order. That order instructed Federal agencies to make deep cuts to the Federal government’s civilian workforce via RIFs.
In her opinion, Illston said that President Trump needed approval from Congress before reorganizing the Federal government and conducting mass layoffs.
Illston’s order tasks Federal agencies with rescinding their actions taken to implement the RIFs and restoring affected employees to the status they held before Feb. 11. It also prevents agencies from issuing any further RIF notices.
The current order applies to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Treasury, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.
It also applies to the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, National Labor Relations Board, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, and Social Security Administration.
The Trump administration will likely ask the Supreme Court to intervene for a final decision.