The U.S. Supreme Court recently gave the green light to the Trump administration to continue laying off large numbers of workers at 19 federal agencies and departments. While litigation over the issue is ongoing, the Court lifted a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked the layoffs. However, the justices noted that they were not deciding the legality of the layoffs or agency restructuring plans but were simply allowing the Trump administration to continue with its agency reorganization plans. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the opinion, as the case returns to the federal district court to address the legality of the administration's plans.
Affected agencies include the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. Other affected agencies include the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Some agencies are implementing reduction-in-force (RIF) notices, while others are pressuring workers to leave voluntarily through deferred resignation programs and other early separation incentives.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order to federal agencies back in February to plan and execute mass layoffs and reorganizations to reduce the number of federal workers. The American Federation of Government Employees, along with 11 nonprofit organizations and six local governments, immediately filed suit, claiming that the Trump administration had to seek congressional approval for its plans.
A San Francisco federal judge put the order on hold because Congress, not the President, creates and funds federal agencies. On appeal by the Trump administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to lift the lower Court's order. However, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the federal government's argument that the President does not need congressional permission to oversee federal agencies, which is a core presidential power. Furthermore, the government argued that because Trump ordered the agencies to maintain all their current functions as required by law, the executive order was lawful.
The ruling ensures that agencies will quickly finalize any RIF notices already issued, and other agencies will immediately send out their notices. RIFs for federal employees are complex, as they must comply with extremely specific policies and procedures. For instance, the determination of which employees will receive RIF notices is based on a range of factors. The administration's desire to quickly cut the workforce is likely to add to the chaos as OPM tries to make decisions and complete tasks that usually occur over months, not days. The level of chaos has already resulted in some employees receiving RIF notices containing incorrect information.
Meanwhile, federal agencies facing cuts must still fulfill their missions by adjusting remaining roles and reassigning duties, which is challenging during a major disruption like a RIF. Maintaining morale and productivity will be paramount, with HR professionals advising agencies to make the cuts quickly to reassure remaining employees of job security. Severance, benefits packages, and other perks can also help ease layoffs.
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