An existing court restraining order preventing the Trump administration from engaging in mass layoffs during the shutdown was expanded by a California judge to include members from three additional federal worker unions. <\/p>\n
San Francisco federal Judge Susan Illston at an emergency hearing Friday said she saw no reason her existing pause on firings didn\u2019t extend to the additional unions. <\/p>\n
The additional unions include the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Association of Government Employees. <\/p>\n
The judge also clarified the scope of her temporary restraining order after the Department of Treasury and Health and Human Services said in court filings<\/a> earlier that day they could proceed with mass layoffs, formally known as reductions in force, of employees who aren\u2019t part of a union\u2019s collective bargaining agreement. <\/p>\n \u201cMy recommendation to defense counsel is to tell the defendants they should err on the side of caution,\u201d Illston said. \u201cI don\u2019t think any RIFs should be happening.\u201d <\/p>\n The judge said she would sign a written order clarifying that the restraining order applies to all plaintiff union members, regardless of whether the government canceled collective bargaining agreements covering those members.<\/p>\n Illston, a Clinton appointee who sits on of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, issued the restraining order Wednesday prohibiting federal agencies from engaging in additional reductions in force, finding the actions are likely \u201cillegal and excess of authority.\u201d She also demanded the government to produce a list of employees fired during the shutdown and any future layoffs.<\/p>\n