Senators Act to Bar Mass Layoffs During Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) introduced the Securing Assurance for Federal Employees (SAFE) Act, legislation to explicitly prohibit the federal government from carrying out reductions in force (RIFs) during a lapse in appropriations. The bill would also reverse RIF actions taken during the current government shutdown.
The SAFE Act comes in response to recent efforts by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to initiate thousands of RIFs during the ongoing shutdown – an unprecedented step that a federal judge has already said appears “politically motivated,” illegal, and “arbitrary and capricious.”
More than 4,000 federal employees have received RIF notices since early October. While the court has temporarily blocked these actions, the threat remains for many other federal employees serving the American public without pay during this shutdown.
Current law does not permit agencies to conduct RIFs during a lapse in appropriations. This bill reaffirms and makes explicit Congress’s intent that no administration may use a shutdown as a pretext to initiate layoffs. The SAFE Act makes clear that such actions have no legal force and ensures federal workers cannot be targeted for job cuts during a funding lapse.
“Our civil servants take an oath to serve the American people, not a political party or a president. Weaponizing a shutdown to push out career professionals is not only wrong, it’s unlawful and dangerous for our democracy,” said Warner. “This bill makes clear that no administration can use manufactured chaos as a backdoor way to purge the federal workforce.”
“Donald Trump and Russ Vought have been deliberately inflicting trauma on our patriotic civil servants since day one, jeopardizing the important work they do on behalf of the American people. This legislation will stop this Administration from weaponizing their shameful shutdown to further their lawless agenda while playing politics with the lives and livelihoods of civil servants and the vital services they provide,” said Van Hollen.
“Despite court orders and legal precedent, the Trump administration continues to play politics with Americans’ lives during the Republican shutdown,” said Leader Schumer. “The erratic slash-and-burn approach to the federal workforce has already caused chaos—firing dedicated public servants one week, only to rehire them the next. It’s reckless, it’s cruel, and it’s illegal. The SAFE Act will put an end to these politically motivated firings during a shutdown once and for all and make Congress’s intent unmistakably clear: no president can weaponize a shutdown to punish federal workers.”
“Trump is using RIFs as a political tool to punish hardworking federal workers and their families during this Republican shutdown, sowing chaos for hundreds of thousands of people,” said Hirono. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to combat this Administration’s lawlessness and protect the jobs and livelihoods of crucial federal employees.”
“Since day one, the Trump Administration has fired thousands of federal employees,” said Kaine. “Our dedicated federal workers—and Americans across the country who rely on their service and expertise—deserve better, and that’s why I’m introducing legislation to prevent any administration from laying off federal employees during a shutdown.”
“This President and his Administration have spent the last 10 months attacking our patriotic civil servants – laying off swaths of federal workers, canceling grants and funding that their work relies on, and now shutting down our government, leaving federal workers without pay. Russell Vought has said he wants our federal workers to feel trauma. It’s cruel, callous, and un-American. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the SAFE Act to prevent mass firings and stop this President from inflicting even more trauma on our federal workers, and the people they serve – the American people,” said Alsobrooks.
The bill is also sponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
The legislation is endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Education Association (NEA), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
“NTEU strongly supports the Securing Assurance for Federal Employees Act which would ban mass layoffs of federal employees during a government shutdown. The SAFE Act would be a strong compliment to the court-ordered injunction now in place against such layoffs. To be furloughed without pay and receive a layoff notice is devastating to federal employees who simply want to do the job they were hired to do and serve their country,” said Doreen Greenwald, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union.
“IFPTE wholeheartedly backs the SAFE Act, sponsored by Senator Warner, which would stop the Trump Administration from laying off federal workers during a shutdown. Simply stated, initiating Reductions in Force (RIFs) during a shutdown is unprecedented, illegal, and immoral. The SAFE Act is necessary to rein in the callous and unlawful effort to RIF federal workers, and IFPTE asks all Senators to support this legislation,” said Matt Biggs, President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE).
Read the full bill here.
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