Trump petitions the Supreme Court to maintain school workforce reduction actions
Unleashing a Legal Battle: The Trump Administration's Mass Layoff Ruckus at the Education Department
Last Saturday, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court to put an end to a lower court's order that would reinstate employees who were dismissed in a mass layoff from the Education Department.
The emergency plea from the Department of Justice questioned the authority of U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston. He allegedly overstepped his bounds last month when he issued an injunction to reverse the layoff of around 1,400 employees and suspended the department's broader plan of cuts.
Joun's order put a halt to one of President Trump's key campaign promises and delayed the attempt to shut down the department. A federal appeals court declined to suspend the order while the administration battled it out.
Joun articulated that the dismissals could cause immense chaos within the department.
However, Attorney General John Sauer asserted that Myong Joun was more like a lawsicle, overpowering the Trump administration's decisions.
The layoffs are purported to help implement the "policy of streamlining the department and eliminating discretionary functions that, in the opinion of the Government, are better managed by the states," wrote Sauer.
Sauer also flagged that the Supreme Court, in April, voted 5-4 to block Joun's earlier order that aimed to preserve the teacher training grants of the Education Department.
A Legal Storm of Challenge and Counter-Challenge
The current scenario involves two consolidated lawsuits that argue Trump's plan equates to an unlawful shutdown of the Education Department.
One lawsuit was filed by the school districts of Somerville and Easthampton, Massachusetts, along with the American Federation of Teachers and other educational groups. The other lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.
The suits contend that the dismissals incapacitate the department to carry out its responsibilities as dictated by Congress, which include supporting special education, distributing financial aid, and upholding civil rights laws.
Staffers on a Roll With Paid Leave
The Education Department employees who were targeted for layoff have been on a paid leave since March, according to a union representing some of the agency's workers.
Joun's order restricts the department from terminating these employees but none of them have been permitted to return to work, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. Without the judge's order, the workers would have been fired on Monday.
The Education Department stated today that it is carefully weighing an approach to reinstating these employees.
- *Workers protest outside the U.S. Department of Education after mass layoffs***
- With Lusa
- In the ongoing legal battle, the Trump administration's mass layoff of around 1,400 Education Department employees has been contested in two consolidated lawsuits, one filed by school districts and educational groups, and another by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.
- The policies and legislation surrounding war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, and policy-and-legislation have been significantly impacted by the mass layoffs and subsequent legal challenges at the Education Department, raising questions about the administration's authority and the department's ability to fulfill its responsibilities as dictated by Congress.
