A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the Trump administration's planned mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau (CFPB) on Friday. This occurred shortly after an appeals court narrowed her earlier injunction.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson's order prevents the terminations, which would have reduced the CFPB's workforce by about 90%. She is considering whether the planned layoffs violate her previous injunction.
The order follows accusations from the CFPB Employee Association and other labor groups that the government was violating her earlier injunction. They alleged the layoffs were scheduled for Friday evening.
Judge Jackson noted the agency planned a reduction in force (RIF) of approximately 1,400 employees. This would have left only a few hundred in place.
She stated that shortly after the appeals court narrowed her initial injunction, CFPB employees were informed the agency would proceed with the RIF. This was "exactly what it was told not to do."
Justice Department lawyers had previously appealed Jackson's order, arguing it "improperly intrudes on the executive [branch's] authority." Jackson has scheduled a hearing for April 28 to hear testimony from officials involved in the RIF procedures.
The plaintiffs initially filed their legal challenge in early February, seeking a temporary restraining order after the Trump administration moved to downsize the CFPB. The court issued a preliminary injunction in late March, finding the plaintiffs were likely to succeed.
The initial order directed the government to "rehire all terminated employees, reinstate all terminated contracts, and refrain from engaging in reductions-in-force or attempting to stop work through any means." The Trump administration appealed this order.
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed Jackson's order in part. They stayed the provision requiring the government to rehire terminated employees.
The appeals court also stayed the part of the order prohibiting the government from "terminating or issuing a notice of reduction" to employees deemed "to be unnecessary to the performance of defendant's statutory duties."