Washington DC—Federal Judge George O’Toole, a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, has blocked the implementation of a reduction in force (RIF) program affecting over two million Federal workers.
The dubious offer from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for a deferred resignation first offered on January 28, was set to expire on Thursday, 6 February, just hours after the Court’s injunction.
Judge O’Toole, a President Clinton era appointee, ruled for an extension until at least Monday, February 10 to give parties a chance to weigh in with their legal arguments on the merits of the case.
This injunction at least temporarily stops the OPM from taking any further employment actions with Federal employees from departments and agencies across the Federal government.
Over 40,000 Federal employees have opted so far to take the deferred resignation, according to a press release from the White House.
We will update this fast developing story as new details are learned.
6:00 pm update February 6, 2025
Federal Judge restores temporary access to U.S. Treasury Payments System while restricting DOGE access to “read only”
Federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted a temporary restraining order restricting access to payment records maintained in the Bureau of Fiscal Services (U.S. Treasury) to “read only” for two special government employees of DOGE. The order further restores full access to regular U.S. Treasury employees exercising their official duties.
The injunction severely limits DOGE control over $6 trillion in transactions at tge U.S. Treasury.
The case was brought by the Alliance for Retired Americans against Scott Bessent the New Secretary of the Treasury appointed by Trump, on behalf of millions of retirees affected by the U.S. Treasury takeover by DOGE. Over 90% of Federal Government transactions are handled by the Bureau of Fiscal Services.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1997.
Federal Personnel File Database Access Goes Offline For Some Agencies
The personnel files of Federal employees of some agencies were removed from access earlier today. The Standard Form-50 (SF-50) is known as the Report of Personnel Action, and the official record of Federal employees’ career history. The records are stored in the human resource files of Federal employees. Removing or restricting access to these forms is comparable to removing a person’s Social Security account or removing their doctor’s or dentist’s medical or dental records.
The SF-50s record the date and approval authority for key milestones in a Federal employee’s career. They record hire dates, promotions, pay increases, bonuses, step increases, job title changes, merit awards, retirement, or end of employment dates.
It is not known why the SF-50s were permanently removed or temporarily blocked from employee access. The Federal employees opting to take the deferred resignation and/or who have decided to retire require access to these records to track their status in the Federal system.
