Federal Worker Union Sues Trump Over Ending Job Protections

Source: Bloomberg Law

Jan. 21, 2025, 7:30 AM EST


The National Treasury Employees Union launched a legal attack against President Donald Trump‘s “Schedule F” executive order, a directive that makes it easier for his administration to fire career employees who work across administrations.

Trump’s order is “contrary to congressional intent,” NTEU said in a complaint filed late Monday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The union pointed to a part of civil service law that empowers the president to remove job protections for career agency staff if “conditions of good administration warrant,” adding that the order doesn’t meet that requirement.

It’s the latest lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s efforts to cull the federal workforce. On Monday, unions and other groups filed complaints in federal court seeking to end the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is an effort to cut government spending that will be led by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk.

“This order is about administering political loyalty tests to everyday employees in the federal workforce who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and serve their country,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald in a statement. NTEU represents employees in 37 federal agencies and offices, including staff at the IRS and Department of Health and Human Services.

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