🔗 Share this article

Administration officials disclosed the start of federal worker layoffs on the end of the week, following through on earlier warnings linked to the ongoing US government shutdown, which is now poised to stretch into its third straight week.

Formal Statement and Initial Details

Russell Vought wrote on a public platform that “RIFs have begun,” indicating the government’s procedure for terminating staff.

Although Vought did not specify which agencies were impacted, a representative from the Treasury Department stated that notices had been distributed within that agency. Additionally, a Department of Homeland Security representative indicated that layoffs would take place at the CISA. Moreover, a union representing federal workers announced that members at the Department of Education would be impacted by the staff cuts.

Union Response and Legal Challenges

Union leaders cautions that the layoffs would have “devastating effects” on services used by millions of Americans and pledged to contest the actions in court.

“It is disgraceful that the government has exploited the funding lapse as an pretext to wrongfully terminate thousands of workers who deliver essential functions to the public across the country,” stated a national union president, representing the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFL-CIO responded to the announcement, saying, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Budget Dispute

Congressional Democrats have declined to vote for a GOP-supported bill to reopen the government unless it contains healthcare-centered concessions. After multiple unsuccessful votes, the Senate’s Republican leaders have put the chamber in recess until the following week, meaning the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved before then.

At a media briefing, the Republican House speaker, the speaker, blasted Senate Democrats for not supporting the GOP proposal, which passed in the House on a near party-line vote.

Federal workers’ final pay that government employees will see until Washington Democrats decide to fulfill their duties and end the shutdown,” the speaker said. “Starting next week, military personnel, many of whom live on tight budgets, are going to miss a complete payment.”

Legal and Operational Constraints

Previously, unions sought a court injunction to block the administration from implementing any layoffs during the shutdown. Additionally, a federal judge ordered the administration to provide specifics on layoff plans, affected agencies, and if any federal employees had been recalled to execute staff reductions.

A report contended that a government shutdown limits the authority of the administration to conduct terminations, referencing guidance that acknowledged any permanent layoffs need to have been started prior to the funding expired.

Consequences for Employees

These terminations occurred on the very day that government employees got only a partial paycheck covering the end of the previous month but not the start of October, since funding expired at the start of the month.

Max Stier, the head of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, criticized the political stalemate’s impact on government workers.

“It is wrong to make government staff bear the burden because our elected officials in the legislature and the White House have failed to keep our federal operations open and operational,” Stier stated. The flight regulators, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and food inspectors are not responsible for this government shutdown.”

A notable point is that members of Congress and top administration officials are continuing to be paid during the shutdown.