Summary
Labor groups representing U.S. government staff have asked a federal judge in San Francisco to block the administration from proceeding with what they describe as cuts to in excess of 10,000 positions at FEMA. In a late Tuesday court filing, the unions said the administration has already begun the process and has not been transparent about how extensive the planned non-renewals will be.
Filing details and claimed scope
The filing states that FEMA - operating within the Department of Homeland Security - intends not to renew temporary contracts for thousands of workers along with the on-call reservists who respond to disasters. The unions reported that about 65 employees were notified on December 31 that their contracts would not be extended and that hundreds more are expected to receive similar notices each month.
According to the unions, these actions began last month. They contend the administration publicly mischaracterized the size and nature of the workforce reductions.
Legal arguments
The unions maintain the workforce reductions are unlawful on two grounds set out in their filing. First, they argue the planned cuts were not authorized by Congress. Second, they say the actions violate a law enacted in November to end a 43-day government shutdown that included a prohibition on federal layoffs through January 30.
Unions are seeking to amend an earlier lawsuit that challenges broad federal layoffs the administration pursued across agencies. That prior litigation had prompted U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to block large-scale layoffs while the case proceeded, although the U.S. Supreme Court later lifted that injunction in July. Separately, Illston more recently barred the U.S. State Department from laying off about 250 employees.
Context in Congress and administration statements
The unions' filing arrives amid an ongoing budget battle in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security that threatens a partial government shutdown. The filing notes that Democratic lawmakers have said they will withhold the votes needed to approve DHS's $64.4 billion budget in the wake of the fatal shooting of a second U.S. citizen by federal immigration officers in Minnesota.
The filing also points to prior remarks from the president suggesting FEMA might be eliminated in favor of shifting responsibility for emergency preparedness to states. The administration established a council last year to review FEMA's operations.
Responses and statements
FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, characterized the administration's moves targeting FEMA as among its most egregious actions. "All Americans rely on the dedicated FEMA workforce, who devote their careers to helping people in their most desperate moments," Kelley said in a statement included in the unions' filing.
What the unions are asking the court to do
The unions want the court to enjoin the administration from carrying out the planned non-renewals while the amended lawsuit proceeds. Their amendment would fold the FEMA-specific claims into the broader challenge to mass federal layoffs that the earlier litigation addresses.
Because the filing relies on existing statutory restrictions and prior court rulings described above, it asks the judge to restore or maintain protections for affected employees until the legal questions are resolved.