San Francisco (Rajeev Sharma): A federal court has ordered that U.S. government agencies may not proceed with firing federal workers while the current government shutdown continues, extending a temporary measure that was due to expire this week.
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco, who decided on Tuesday to keep in place a moratorium on dismissals until further notice. The judge’s earlier injunction, issued earlier this month, was originally set to end on Wednesday.
In her decision, Judge Illston—who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton—said that the evidence presented so far points to the likelihood that the government’s recent layoffs were not legally justified and may have been carried out without proper authority.
Since the shutdown began on October 1, roughly 4,100 termination notices have been sent to federal employees. Court documents revealed that, in some instances, workers were asked to return to their offices without pay so that others could receive dismissal notifications. The judge clarified, however, that her order does not apply to layoffs that occurred before the shutdown started.
The United States enters a government shutdown when Congress fails to approve a funding bill, leaving agencies without money to operate. Until a spending deal is reached, thousands of government employees are either furloughed or working without pay, affecting public services across the country.
Judge Illston’s decision offers temporary protection for federal staff as the legal battle over the government’s authority to issue layoffs during a shutdown continues to unfold.
