Judge halts firings amid shutdown

Relief for over 10k workers facing chop

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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pause plans to fire thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, just moments after White House Budget Director Russell Vought said he expects layoffs to exceed more than 10,000 people.

The ruling on Wednesday from US District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco follows layoff notices that have gone out to more than 4,100 federal employees since last week.

The order isn’t a final decision on the merits of the case. It means that more than 30 federal agencies for now cannot send out new layoff notices if they involve programmes that affect labour union members who sued.

The decision also means the government must halt action on notices that already went out while the judge weighs whether to impose a longer-term block.

The Justice Department in the meantime could ask an appeals court to immediately intervene and let layoffs resume while the case goes forward.