Federal Employee Union Looks to Add FEMA to Layoff Challenge

A federal employee union asked a federal judge to add FEMA to an ongoing lawsuit seeking to block layoffs at various agencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency violated a ban on personnel cuts, the American Federation of Government Employees told a federal court Tuesday. AFGE sued the Trump administration, alleging the government ignored the prohibition on layoffs late last year, initiated as part of a wider deal that ended the 43-day government shutdown.

The union accuses FEMA of advancing a plan last month to eliminate half of the agency’s 22,000 workers, well before the current funding deal is set to ...