Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 20 attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for Maryland in an ongoing lawsuit against numerous federal agencies for the unlawful mass firing of federal probationary employees.
The ruling will protect federal probationary employees who live or work in the states included in the lawsuit and orders 20 federal agencies to continue their efforts to reinstate unlawfully terminated probationary employees while the court case continues. The injunction also requires those agencies to follow lawful procedures in conducting any future reductions in force.
“The mass firings of dedicated civil servants creates chaos and instability within our federal government. They also upend the lives of thousands of federal employees in Illinois and around the country, including veterans who deserve the support of a government they have put their lives on the line to serve,” Raoul said. “These mass firings are callous and a violation of the law. I will continue to join with my fellow attorneys general in seeking due process for the thousands of federal employees whose lives are being needlessly affected by the careless, short-sighted and illegal decisions of this administration.”
The injunction comes after Attorney General Raoul joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Illinois and the other plaintiff states. The lawsuit sought immediate relief, and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 14 that applied to 18 federal agencies. The court later extended that order by five days. An expiration would have had devastating impacts on Illinois and the plaintiff states, as well as on probationary employees living in the states.
The injunction extends the court’s earlier order requiring federal agencies to stop unlawful mass firings and reinstate terminated probationary workers. It also ensures that for the remainder of the case, the following federal agencies cannot continue their unlawful conduct: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Interior, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management, Small Business Administration and United States Agency for International Development.
Attorney General Raoul was joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
