Esther Ritchin is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, a judge orders federal probationary workers reinstated, AFGE and other unions sue the Department of Homeland Security, and the Postmaster General announces intentions to work with DOGE.
Yesterday, a federal judge in California ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were fired from federal agencies last month. The judge refers specifically to the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Treasury, and ordered the discovery and deposition of Noah Peters, a senior advisor at the Office of Personnel Management. Judge Alsup said “It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie…That should not have been done in our country. It was a sham in order to try to avoid statutory requirements.”
Yesterday, multiple unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFGE TSA Local 1121, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security’s cancellation of its contract with Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). The contract was approved in 2024 and covers 47,000 workers.
The Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, has signed an agreement for the US Postal Service (USPS) to work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has said he wants to privatize the USPS. The letter states USPS’s intent to eliminate 10,000 jobs in the next 30 days through an early retirement program.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
March 17
West Virginia passes a bill for gig drivers, the Tenth Circuit rejects an engineer's claims of race and age bias, and a discussion on the spread of judicial curtailment of NLRB authority.
March 16
Starbucks' union negotiations are resurrected; jobs data is released.
March 15
A U.S. District Court issues a preliminary injunction against the Department of Veterans Affairs for terminating its collective bargaining agreement, and SEIU files a lawsuit against DHS for effectively terminating immigrant workers at Boston Logan International Airport.
March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.