The former chair of the agency that enforces labor laws for the federal workforce will return to her job, reversing President
Susan Grundmann, who Trump terminated as member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, can stay in her role, said US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan in her decision Wednesday.
Grundmann said in her February lawsuit that her removal was a “flagrant violation” of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. The administration removed Grundmann from the FLRA website but has refused to confirm her firing.
She argued that the president can remove her only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Sooknanan, a Biden-appointee, agreed, saying in her opinion that the termination was unlawful. She enjoined the administration from removing Grundmann until the end of her term in 2027.
District court judges have struck down other high-profile firings of independent government panels, including Cathy Harris, chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox.
Grundmann is represented by Norman Eisen PLLC, Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, and Justice Legal Strategies PLLC. Trump and FLRA Chair Colleen Kiko are represented by Christopher Hall, assistant director of the Department of Justice.
“Another illegal action by the Trump administration has been struck down,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund which represents Grundmann. “This is an important win for the American people.”
The case is Grundmann v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-00425, 2/18/25.
(Updated with comment from the State Democracy Defenders Fund. Story originally published March 12.)
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