Documents reveal chaos and confusion behind government shutdown layoffs

Layoffs are never a painless exercise, but the Trump administration's effort to fire federal workers while the government is shut down is driving confusion and chaos beyond a typical termination, court filings show.Why it matters: Documents from a federal court case challenging shutdown firings detail an unusual mess in the latest setback for federal workers this year. Catch up quick: In early October, while agencies were shuttered, and many on furlough — not working, not getting paid — firing notices went out to about 4,000 people.A lawsuit filed by federal worker unions alleges that firings in a shutdown are unlawful, and that the terminations have been arbitrary, and politically motivated. Federal judge Susan Illston in San Francisco blocked the firings in two separate decisions in October.The other side: The White House argues that the firings are justified by the lapse in government funding brought on by the shutdown, and that no individual was politically targeted. Zoom in: Many workers didn't initially see their reduction in force, or RIF, notices. They didn't know they were fired for days.Notices went to work email addresses that some were explicitly told not to check during their furlough. Others weren't checking email because they weren't working."On October 11, 2025, a supervisor notified me and several colleagues via text message that she had received a RIF notice," writes Christine Grassman, a 56-year-old employee at the Department of Education. "She suggested that we check our work emails to see whether we had also been RIFed." Grassman worked on a federal program that provides blind people with employment opportunities, and is herself blind. She says everyone working on that program was fired. RIF notices had mistakes, several workers testified in court filings. A few noted estimates of their severance pay were off, or information about their performance reviews was incorrect.The problem: They couldn't reach anyone at their agency to flag the errors. Human resource staff was on furlough, too. HR staff were called back to conduct firings, and then "ordered to RIF themselves," Illston wrote in her decision late last month.Union representatives who are typically allowed to email information out to workers, even in shutdowns, have been blocked from doing so this year, says Daniel Ronnenberg, president of the Federal Aviation Administration Employees Union, Local 1653."It has been chaotic," he tells Axios. FAA employees haven't been fired, but the ones on furlough aren't able to apply for unemployment benefits because they can't get the paperwork to file, he says.Some notices went out in error: The U.S. Census Bureau sent out 108 RIF notices during the shutdown. Six went to folks who'd already been let go, per the filing.Many federal employees are getting fired for the second time this year. Previous attempts had been thwarted or rescinded.Ironically, the shutdown is keeping some federal workers from being actually separated from their jobs.Meghan Burns was cut from the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in March. But her firing was delayed by two different lawsuits.Her last day was scheduled for Monday. But the shutdown has put that end date on hold, she says.Between the lines: Workers are struggling to understand the terms of their separation — and make choices about what comes next.That's a particularly urgent problem for older employees who have the option of choosing to retire early, with health benefits, rather than take severance and be separated."Because we're in the middle of a government shutdown, I also haven't been able to get any information about the amount of my severance, what will happen to my accrued annual leave, whether I will receive pay for the period between the start of the shutdown and my separation date, and whether I will be able to extend my health insurance," writes Lamarla Stevens in court testimony. After working at Housing and Urban Development for 19 years, she was fired last month while on maternity leave."I'm in a state of limbo with no idea how to move forward."

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