The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to lift the stay blocking USDA employee relocations, arguing that the order is preventing the Forest Service from filling critical wildfire and avalanche positions, and that employees who had already started moving are now stuck.
In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on October 30, DOJ attorneys said Judge Vince Chhabria’s October 13 stay “significantly hinders USDA’s operations across the board.” The stay bars USDA from issuing or enforcing relocation or reassignment notices outside the Washington area. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz told the court that the order complicates the roughly 2,500 voluntary reassignments the agency carries out each year. It is also preventing the Forest Service from filling 25 fire management officer vacancies and 10 avalanche center director posts from outside the local commuting area. Scott Hutchins, USDA’s undersecretary for research, education, and economics, said about 30 Agricultural Research Service employees could lose their jobs if they cannot be reassigned away from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, which USDA plans to close.
The filing also describes employees who are caught mid-move. Hutchins said some staff bought or sold homes after receiving relocation notices, and that “there are individuals who have moved all their belongings into storage and are staying in temporary housing while they look for a new home.” He said those employees will soon need temporary housing extensions, which the agency cannot issue under the stay. Chhabria said earlier that he would not stay his own order, but DOJ argues the new evidence shifts the balance in USDA’s favor. The government’s appeal to the 9th Circuit is also pending, and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the department remains “full-bore ahead” with the reorganization.
IAM Member Impact: Members holding household goods in storage for USDA employees affected by the stay may expect extended storage-in-transit periods. The filing suggests ordinary Forest Service transfers are also being delayed, which could reduce routine USDA volume beyond the reorganization. If the court or the 9th Circuit lifts the stay, pent-up moves, including 2,500 voluntary Forest Service reassignments a year and about 2,600 reorganization moves, could arrive quickly.
Source: Federal News Network