DOL Pauses Layoffs at Contractor Watchdog After Court Ruling

Mass layoffs at the Labor Department’s contractor watchdog appear on hold as the agency complies with a federal judge’s temporary restraining order that halted a Trump administration plan to downsize the government.

The department sent Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs employees, who received a layoff notice last week, a letter stating action related to their terminations is paused due to the California federal judge’s May 9 order, according to copies of the letter sent to three workers and reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

The administration previously planned to lay off most of the OFCCP’s staff by June 6 as part of its plan to gut the power of the office that polices federal contractors for discrimination and ensures they have affirmative action plans were in place.

In granting the TRO, Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a radical reorganization of the federal workforce likely violates the Constitution. The ruling came in a suit brought by a coalition including the American Federation of Government Employees that challenged the administration over its layoff plans.

“In accordance with the court’s order and applicable guidance, the Department is complying with the TRO and will take no further action to effectuate or enforce RIF-related decisions or personnel changes covered by the TRO until further notice,” the letter from the DOL to OFCCP employees stated.

The department will monitor the litigation “closely” and provide updated information as its available, the letter added. A DOL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration appealed Illston’s decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on May 10, raising the possibility the suspension of mass worker terminations may not last.

Layoff notices were sent to most OFCCP staff who had not opted into deferred resignations and early retirement, leaving in place only a portion of the subagency’s national office and Dallas-area staff.

The plan to terminate most OFCCP staff came after Trump’s January rescission of the decades-old executive order that established most of the watchdog’s power.

The only remaining duties of the OFCCP currently are the ability to enforce certain antibias laws for disabled workers and veterans, but the agency’s new director, Catherine Eschbach said those authorities would be under review, as well.