U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, an Obama appointee, said in his preliminary ruling that the unions likely must first bring their claims before the Federal Labor Relations Authority, whose chairwoman Trump recently fired ahead of the expiration of her term.
“Although district court review may appear more efficient or convenient to NTEU, its preference does not insulate its claims from the [Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute] review scheme,” Cooper wrote.
In a statement following the decision, NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald called it a “temporary setback.”
“The lawsuit we filed with our labor union partners will be heard and federal employees will get their day in court to challenge the unlawful mass firings and other attacks on their jobs, their agencies and their service to the country,” she said. “Already too many federal employees and their families have been devastated by these indiscriminate layoffs, and soon their local economies will feel that pain, too.”
The unions had argued that the Trump administration’s actions undermine congressional authority to set and fund agencies and violate rules around reductions in force.
The American Federation of Government Employees on Wednesday judge denies federal unions request block probationary firings
