The Education Department can proceed with layoffs of approximately 1,300 employees following a Supreme Court ruling that lifted a previous injunction. Earlier, these employees had been on paid administrative leave due to a federal judge's order that found the layoffs would hinder Education's responsibilities. The Supreme Court's ruling is temporary, pending future hearings. The decision aligns with recent rulings allowing layoffs across other federal agencies. Dissenting justices expressed concerns about the potential dismantling of the department without congressional authorization.
The Trump administration issued reduction-in-force notices to roughly one-third of the workforce in March, but in May a federal judge in Massachusetts issued an injunction after finding the cuts made it "effectively impossible" for Education to carry out its legally required responsibilities.
The decision followed one the Supreme Court reached last week in a larger case, which allowed RIFs at nearly every other major agency to move forward.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented on the decision to grant a stay to the lower court's injunction.
The cuts, which when combined with voluntary and incentivized departures would lead to an overall workforce reduction of 50%, amount to a dismantling of the department, the justices said, which only Congress can authorize.
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