Government halt: Layoffs at State Department halted due to court order

The State Department's planned Reduction in Force (RIF) measures, which include the dismissal of 3,400 employees, have been halted by a federal judge. The judge's ruling updates a previous injunction that blocked federal workforce reductions.

The judge's decision comes after the administration argued that the State Department's reorganization was conducted separately from the President's mandate for all agencies to slash their workforces. However, the judge rejected this argument, stating that the State Department is not a special case exempt from the ruling.

In a move to prepare for RIFs, the State Department had asked all civil service employees to upload their resumes to an internal site by June 13 to "prepare for the reorganization." This step is common just before agencies implement RIFs, as HR offices need up-to-date information to determine employee eligibility for other positions if they are laid off.

The judge's order applies only to Trump's executive order and subsequent guidance from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management. The judge also instructed the Trump administration to allow her to review HUD's reorganization plan before making a decision.

The State Department's reorganization, which was said to have occurred only at the instruction of Secretary Marco Rubio, includes thousands of layoffs. Other agencies have similarly taken steps to swiftly implement layoffs if the Supreme Court rules in the administration's favor.

However, employees were told that layoffs would not occur immediately, but RIF notices were expected in the coming days or weeks. The department's employees are not out of the woods yet, as Illston's larger injunction is pending before the Supreme Court with a decision expected any day.

In a separate development, the judge issued a new order demanding the State Department not proceed with planned layoffs. The Justice Department lawyers had stated that State could begin issuing layoffs as soon as Friday, but this did not happen.

The plaintiffs in the case had asked Illston to reverse firings of dozens of probationary employees at the Housing and Urban Development Department, but the judge said she needed more information. The State government leadership announced the implementation of RIFs measures, but the fate of these measures remains uncertain.