Washington: A US federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to reinstate thousands of employees who were laid off during the recent government shutdown and to cease ongoing layoffs, as reported by the Washington Times. Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California emphasized that a law signed by US President Donald Trump last month prohibits reductions in force, or RIFs. She instructed the government to comply with her preliminary injunction by next Tuesday, allowing the Justice Department time to appeal.

According to Anadolu Agency, during the six-week shutdown, President Trump asserted that he had the authority to terminate workers, rather than merely furlough them, which was the standard procedure during previous shutdowns. Labor unions and Democratic lawmakers contended that using the shutdown as a pretext to dismiss federal workers was unlawful.

Judge Illston also rejected the State Department's assertion that the cuts had commenced well before the shutdown, which began in October and lasted for 43 days. She determined that the stopgap spending bill, or continuing resolution, passed by Congress to reopen the government was broad enough to prohibit any reductions, regardless of their initiation date.

Everett Kelley, head of the American Federation for Government Employees, hailed the ruling as 'another victory' for federal employees and the rule of law. He criticized the administration's ongoing defiance of the mandate as part of a concerning pattern of actions against federal employees and the American public.

The shutdown began on October 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement on health care subsidies. Since then, the Trump administration has issued thousands of RIF notices and reduced grants to multiple agencies and organizations.