A federal judge has removed a block he had previously placed on the Trump administration’s buyout program for federal workers and denied unions’ request for further relief.
“The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees,” O’Toole said. “This is not sufficient.”
His order indicated that aggrieved employees should bring claims through the administrative process. “That the unions themselves may be foreclosed from this administrative process does not mean that adequate judicial review is lacking,” he said.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), one of the union plaintiffs, criticized the ruling in a statement.
“Today’s ruling is a setback in the fight for dignity and fairness for public servants,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a press release. Kelley added that “AFGE’s lawyers are evaluating the decision and assessing next steps.”
O’Toole’s decision came two days after a Feb. 10 hearing in Boston, where the Department of Justice (DOJ) and an attorney for the unions argued before O’Toole. At that time, O’Toole said he would maintain a block he imposed on Feb. 6 until he made a decision on further relief.
A senior administration official said in a statement to The Epoch Times that the buyout program was closed as of 7 p.m.
“There is no longer any doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees,” the official said.
“This program was carefully designed, thoroughly vetted, and provides generous benefits so federal workers can plan for their futures.”
Some have scrutinized the program as misleading, since current congressional appropriations that provide federal workers with their pay and benefits expire in March, while the offer promises pay through the end of September.
Elena Goldstein, an attorney for Democracy Forward, the group leading the lawsuit, argued that the program was unlawful because it was promising funds not yet appropriated by Congress.
“AFSCME and our partners remain committed to stopping this illegal attack on the freedoms of public service workers,” the group wrote. “It is critical that we act swiftly to protect working people against the billionaires who want to take our power and block us from serving our communities. Today may be a step back, but we won’t back down.”
On Wednesday, acting NASA administrator Janet Petro told reporters at a space industry conference in Washington that hundreds of the agency’s employees had accepted the buyout offer.
“We are going to have DOGE come. They’re going to look—similarly [to] what they’ve done in other agencies—at our payments and what money has gone out,” Petro said.
