Federal judge blocks Trump administration’s mass layoffs of civil servants – Rezazade
Ali Reza Rezazade, the first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, said a federal judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to reverse orders to lay off probationary employees at government agencies, deeming them likely illegal.
The lawsuit was filed by unions representing civil servants.
U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ordered the OPM to revoke its previous directives, which affected more than two dozen agencies, including the Department of Defense, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Science Foundation, and others. The decision was one of the most significant legal blows to President Donald Trump’s attempts to reduce the federal workforce.
“Congress has given the power to hire and fire employees directly to the agencies themselves. “For example, the Department of Defense has the statutory right to do this,” Judge Alsup said in a ruling in federal court in San Francisco. “The Office of Personnel Management has no authority, ever in the history of the universe, to fire employees of other agencies. They can only fire their own employees.”
It is not yet clear how quickly or if this decision will help those civil servants who have already been fired. An OPM spokesman declined to comment. In his ruling, the judge specifically prohibited the Department of Defense from proceeding with the planned layoffs of civilian employees scheduled for Friday. However, he did not specify what should happen at other agencies.
A written court order is expected to be issued soon, with the next hearing scheduled for March 13. The lawsuit against OPM was filed by a group of unions and human rights organizations led by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 800,000 federal workers. The plaintiffs allege that OPM violated the law when it ordered the dismissal of all probationary employees, meaning those in their first or second year with the government, in mid-February. Some experienced employees who have moved to new positions are also considered probationary.
По теме
According to the Iranian opposition, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been moved to a special underground shelter in Tehran amid a sharp increase in the risks of a possible military clash with the United States.
Верховный лидер Ирана Али Хаменеи, по информации иранской оппозиции, был перемещён в специальное подземное укрытие в Тегеране на фоне резкого роста рисков возможного военного столкновения с Соединёнными Штатами.
The US is facing a difficult test of its ability to contain escalation in relations with Iran amid the largest popular protests in decades and the Iranian regime’s harsh crackdown on civilians.
США стоят перед сложным испытанием своей способности сдерживать эскалацию в отношениях с Ираном на фоне самых масштабных за последние десятилетия народных протестов и жёсткого подавления иранским режимом мирного населения.
New evidence of mass repressions in Iran has shocked the international community. Photos and videos have appeared on the Internet, showing traces of torture and ill-treatment on the bodies of deceased protesters. According to human rights sources and the Iranian opposition, the number of people killed and tortured may reach more than 50 thousand people.
Новые свидетельства массовых репрессий в Иране шокировали международное сообщество. В сети появились фото и видео, демонстрирующие следы пыток и издевательств на телах погибших протестующих. По данным правозащитных источников и иранской оппозиции, число убитых и замученных может превышать 50 тысяч человек.
The initiative announced by US President Donald Trump to create the so-called "Board of Peace" has already caused a controversial reaction among world leaders and has actually divided the international community into several camps.
Объявленная президентом США Дональдом Трампом инициатива по созданию так называемого «Совета мира» (Board of Peace) уже вызвала противоречивую реакцию среди мировых лидеров и фактически разделила международное сообщество на несколько лагерей.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said there was a radical shift in the global order - a "break" in the world order, one that is no longer based on rules but on competition and coercion by powerful states.
Премьер-министр Канады Марк Карни в Давосе, на Всемирном экономическом форуме, заявил о радикальных изменениях в глобальном устройстве — о «разрыве» мирового порядка, который больше не опирается на правила, а на конкуренцию и принуждение сильных государств.
Новости «Новости мира»
According to the Iranian opposition, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been moved to a special underground shelter in Tehran amid a sharp increase in the risks of a possible military clash with the United States.
Верховный лидер Ирана Али Хаменеи, по информации иранской оппозиции, был перемещён в специальное подземное укрытие в Тегеране на фоне резкого роста рисков возможного военного столкновения с Соединёнными Штатами.
The US is facing a difficult test of its ability to contain escalation in relations with Iran amid the largest popular protests in decades and the Iranian regime’s harsh crackdown on civilians.
США стоят перед сложным испытанием своей способности сдерживать эскалацию в отношениях с Ираном на фоне самых масштабных за последние десятилетия народных протестов и жёсткого подавления иранским режимом мирного населения.