DHS says shutdown layoffs at CISA will proceed despite court injunction

"In a Tuesday filing, CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said the agency issued reduction-in-force notices to 54 employees on Oct. 11, roughly two weeks before a federal court issued a preliminary injunction pausing certain layoff activity governmentwide. The listed employees work across CISA's Stakeholder Engagement Division, which includes branches focused on partnerships, international affairs and academic outreach. CISA maintains it is in compliance with the court's order, saying that no new reduction notices have been issued since the injunction,"

"The injunction barred any layoffs since the Oct. 1 start of the shutdown, but applied only to "competitive areas"- the groupings of employees that agencies must create before engaging in RIFs - that contain members of one of the unions party to the lawsuit. Because CISA did not send layoff notices to any staffing groups that contained such union-represented workers, the agency argued it can proceed with the cuts."

"In a table shown in Gottumukkala's filing, affected division employees are marked with a "No" in a column that displays "Covered by Injunction." The declaration appears to account only for the 54 layoffs within CISA's Stakeholder Engagement Division, though Nextgov/FCW previously reported that employees in other CISA divisions were also affected in shutdown layoffs. Nextgov/FCW has emailed CISA asking for comment."

CISA issued reduction-in-force notices to 54 employees on Oct. 11, about two weeks before a federal court issued a preliminary injunction pausing certain layoff activity. The affected employees work in the Stakeholder Engagement Division, including partnerships, international affairs and academic outreach. CISA says no new reduction notices have been issued since the injunction, the October layoffs were planned beforehand and they involve no union-represented employees. The injunction barred layoffs since Oct. 1 but applied only to competitive areas that include members of unions party to the lawsuit. Because no notices went to those staffing groups, CISA argues it can proceed with the cuts. Reports indicate other CISA divisions were also affected.

Read at Nextgov.com