The Maryland State Capitol building can be found in Annapolis. Maryland is one of the states suing the Trump administration for mass shootings of federal employees. Jim Watson/AFP hides captions via Getty Images
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Attorney General, Maryland, and 18 other states are suing the Trump administration over mass shootings of federal employees.
Their lawsuit joins several other legal challenges in search of relief for tens of thousands of fired workers.
The Democratic Attorney General claims that the federal agency mistakenly misrepresented a trial employee (someone relatively new to the job) that was fired for their performance.
In fact, the state alleges that more than 20 agencies appointed as defendants in the case are trying to reduce their personnel through a process called power reduction but have failed to follow the proper procedures to do so.
Federal law requires that states generally notify the state 60 days in advance when firing more than 50 people, so states can jump into action.
“Economic dislocation of workers can easily create a cascade of instability across the local economy,” the Attorney General wrote in the complaint.
Under federal law, states need to have a quick response team to provide workers with assistance, including employment transition services. The goal of these teams is to reduce the reliance on public assistance for fired employees.
A pre-notification of a massive layoff will help the state quickly identify who needs help before being fired, the complaint argues.
The Attorney General asked a federal judge in Maryland for a temporary restraining order, halting the fire of probation employees and reviving those who were fired. The hearing is scheduled for March 12th.
