The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s threats of a mass firing of Federal Employees in the event of a government shutdown. 

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit asserts the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), through its Director Russ Vought, violated the law through its threats to engage in the mass firing of Federal Workers during a shutdown.

The lawsuit also names as defendants the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its Director Scott Kupor, which issued unlawful and unprecedented instructions that Federal Employees may perform work during the Federal Government shutdown in order to carry out mass RIFs. 

AFGE and AFSCME are being represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Forward and the Democracy Defenders Fund. 

The lawsuit alleges the Administration’s plan to fire Federal Employees during a shutdown is an unlawful abuse of power designed to punish Workers and pressure Congress.

For decades, shutdowns have meant Employees are either furloughed without pay but guaranteed back pay, or they are deemed “excepted” and required to keep working until funding is restored to pay them.

The OMB Memo breaks from this long-standing framework, directing agencies to issue mass RIF notices that could strip employees of back pay rights, violate agencies’ statutory duties and even target Workers whose jobs are essential to protecting life and property during a shutdown.

In doing so, the Trump Administration is misusing the shutdown process for partisan ends and violating the very laws that govern how shutdowns are supposed to function. 

AFGE National President Everett Kelley said: “Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of Federal Employees simply because Congress and the Administration are at odds on funding the Government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal - it’s immoral and unconscionable. Federal Employees dedicate their careers to public service - more than a third are military veterans, and the contempt being shown them by this Administration is appalling.” 

AFSCME President Lee Saunders said: “The Trump Administration is once again breaking the law to push its extreme Project (2025) agenda, illegally targeting Federal Workers with threats of mass firings due to the Federal Government shutdown. If these mass firings take place, the people who keep our skies safe for travel, our food supply secure, and our communities protected will lose their jobs. We will do everything possible to defend these AFSCME Members and their fellow workers from an Administration hell-bent on stripping away their Collective Bargaining Rights and jobs.” 

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: AFGE | Trump Administration’s Plan for Mass Firing of Federal Workers During Government Shutdown Violates Law, Unions Say