Latest news with #staffingcuts
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court lets Trump move forward with large-scale staff cuts for now
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on July 8 lifted a federal judge's order pausing the Trump administration's large-scale staffing cuts and agency restructuring, boosting the president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. In an unsigned and brief opininon, the justices said they are not ruling on the legality of a specific reorganization plan. But, the court said, the district judge was wrong to stop the administration from moving ahead with changes to agencies. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, calling it the 'wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground.' "Yet, for some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President's wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation," Jackson wrote. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that while she agrees with Jackson that any changes must comply with previous congressional directives, Trump's executive order instructed agencies to follow the law. 'The plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law,' she wrote. Sotomayor said the district judge can now consider whether that's happening. The mass federal layoffs were challenged by a group of unions, non-profits and local governments who argued the administration can't make such sweeping changes without Congress. In a joint statement, the coalition said the court's decision "has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy." The groups vowed to keep fighting. If the administration is allowed to plow forward while courts are weighing in, they've argued, it will be impossible to restore the agencies even if their challenge is ultimately successful. "There will be no way to unscramble that egg," lawyers for the unions and other challengers had told the Supreme Court. The administration argued President Donald Trump doesn't need "special permission" from Congress' to lay off thousands of federal employees. And it's not in the government's, or the taxpayer's interest, to have to wait for the litigation to play out before cutting the workforce, lawyers for the Justice Department said. "Every day that the preliminary injunction remains in effect, a government-wide program to implement agency RIFs is being halted and delayed, maintaining a bloated and inefficient workforce while wasting countless taxpayer dollars," the Justice Department told the Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco halted the layoffs, ruling on May 22 that the approximately 20 affected agencies won't be able to function as Congress intended. For example, she said, Congress established the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health but the administration wants to eliminate nearly all of its 222 employees. And the Social Security Administration, which was also established by Congress, has struggled to respond to Social Security recipients since staff reductions began, wrote Illston, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton. A divided three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed Illston's decision. Two of the three judges − both of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents − said the administration's 'unprecedented' attempt to restructure the federal government is so broad that it was difficult to fully capture the magnitude in their court order. Writing for the majority, Judge William Fletcher also said the administration failed to provide 'a single piece of evidence' for why it would suffer an irreparable injury if Trump can't immediately fire the workers. Judge Consuelo Callahan, who was appointed by a Republican president, dissented. She wrote that the courts were interfering with Trump's 'lawful conduct.' More: Thousands of federal employees are on a roller coaster of being fired, rehired The administration has aggressively challenged the pauses federal judges are putting on the president's policies as they're being litigated. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Federal government layoffs: Supreme Court sides with Trump for now
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Democrat: Possible role of NWS staffing cuts in flooding deaths should be investigated
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said Sunday that the possible role of National Weather Service (NWS) staffing cuts in recent Texas flooding deaths should be investigated. 'Two Texas National Weather Service offices involved in forecasting and warning about flooding on the Guadalupe River are missing some key staff members,' host Dana Bash said during Castro's appearance on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'A director of the NWS union told CNN that the Austin/San Antonio office is missing a warning coordination meteorologist due to the Trump administration's buyouts,' she added. 'Do you have any indication whether those or other cuts helped play a role in the fact that the people in the flood zone were not prepared and certainly not evacuated?' Castro responded that he couldn't speak 'conclusively' about the cuts, adding later that he did not 'think it's helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies.' 'On most days, obviously, you're not going to have a tragedy like this, but when you have flash flooding, there's a risk that you won't have the personnel to make that — do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way,' he said. 'And it could lead to tragedy. So, I don't want to sit here and say conclusively that that was the case, but I do think that it should be investigated,' he added. The Trump administration fired hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staff earlier this year, including some NWS staff. It later moved to reassign other employees to NWS offices that were 'critically understaffed,' according to an internal document. In the past few months, the Trump administration has taken aim at multiple parts of the federal government, slashing staff and switching up the structure of departments and agencies in a dramatic fashion that rattled Washington. When reached for comment, the NWS said it 'is heartbroken by the tragic loss of life' caused by the flooding. 'On July 3, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio, TX conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in the morning and issued a Flood Watch in the early afternoon,' the NWS said in a statement. 'Flash Flood Warnings were issued on the night of July 3 and in the early morning of July 4, giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met.' Updated at 11:15 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Walmart Workers Vanish Overnight and Employees Sound the Alarm
Walmart employees are sounding the alarm as sudden staffing cuts sweep through stores nationwide, reportedly driven by changes to immigration work authorizations and legal uncertainty. Multiple staffers have taken to social media to share that coworkers have disappeared from schedules overnight—sometimes in double-digit numbers, the Daily Mail reported. One Reddit user claimed their location lost 10 employees with work visas. Another reported 40 departures at a 400-person store, forcing older workers and managers to stretch themselves thin just to keep shelves stocked. 'Most of our older floor associates are constantly asking for help,' one employee wrote. 'It's not really ideal.' The staffing drop comes as Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., moves to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that abruptly ended a temporary work program. The program had shielded over half a million migrants from deportation and granted legal work authorization until the court reversed course in late May. Retail law experts say the ruling left companies like Walmart in a bind. While the government hasn't provided clear lists of impacted workers, federal filings have stated that companies are responsible for removing unauthorized employees, even if their status was revoked suddenly. "Employers like Walmart have no choice but to stop employing workers who lack US work authorization," immigration attorney Loren Locke told Daily Mail. "But it is tricky to comply when they have a large number of current employees whose work permits are getting cancelled prematurely." Walmart has reportedly told managers in Florida and Texas to review HR files and reverify work eligibility for employees tied to the now-defunct identifying those workers isn't simple. The program falls under the same visa classification as others still in effect, making it difficult to isolate affected staff. The company has not publicly commented, but lawyers warn that this situation exposes the need for smarter employee tracking and support systems. 'We're not talking about people trying to bend the rules. These are employees who've done everything right,' said Los Angeles trial attorney Jamie E. Wright. No, these employees who followed every rule are finding themselves out of a job. As customers walk into understaffed stores and employees work overtime to cover the gaps, many are wondering what Walmart's next move will be and whether it will come fast Workers Vanish Overnight and Employees Sound the Alarm first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 1, 2025
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Walmart staff panic as bosses roll out mass sackings overnight leaving stores understaffed
Walmart employees are saying they're losing coworkers overnight. The retailer, America's largest private employer, is complying with a sweeping Supreme Court decision that allowed the Trump administration to revoke work protections for half a million migrant employees. Walmart staffers are saying the company is responding with quick staffing cuts in stores. They're worried there aren't enough workers. 'Anyone else just lose a bunch of employees to Trump policy?' a Redditor asked in a thread dedicated to Walmart. '[My store] just lost 10 employees who were here on work visa.' Another claimed their store lost 40 staffers at a 400-worker store, representing 10 percent of the workforce. They said remaining employees are now scrambling to keep stores running. Some said their store is turning to elderly employees to fill the gap. 'Most of our older floor associates are constantly asking for help,' another added. 'It's not really ideal.' Retail experts told that the impact on consumers at affected stores is likely temporary and regional. 'This disruption is real, but it's more of a speed bump than a roadblock for a company that's weathered much worse,' Carol Spieckerman, a global retail expert, said. 'This is just the latest curveball for Walmart — after navigating inflation, potential tariffs, and economic uncertainty, they've become experts at adaptation. 'The impact won't be uniform. States closer to the border will feel this more acutely than stores in the heartland.' Walmart's reported job cuts come after President Donald Trump abruptly ended a Biden-era parole program. Biden created the program, called CHNV, in January 2023 that temporarily shielded over 534,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants from deportation until the end of 2025. The program granted work permits. Recipients were legally allowed to take US jobs, and officials notified their employers that the visas needed to renew at the end of this year. But in late May this year, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency request to quickly remove the Biden-era program, creating widespread uncertainty for employees and their employers. For employees, the fallout is already visible inside Walmart stores. The company did not respond to multiple comment requests from The company, which is America's largest employer, is reportedly telling managers in Florida and Texas to look at HR paperwork Bloomberg previously reported that the company has instructed store managers — particularly in Florida and Texas — to begin identifying employees whose work authorizations may have been rapidly revoked. Internal documents reviewed by the outlet indicate that affected staff must reverify their work eligibility immediately. The legal situation is complex and extremely high-risk for large employers, according to Loren Locke, an immigration attorney in Georgia. 'Employers like Walmart have no choice but to stop employing workers who lack US work authorization,' she told 'But it is tricky to comply when they have a large number of current employees whose work permits are getting cancelled prematurely.' The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not directly notified employers about which workers are losing their status. Instead, a March federal filing by Trump officials said employers carried 'constructive knowledge' if they continued to employ the migrants using the Biden-era program. According to Locke, that shifted legal responsibility on employers like Walmart. The companies can be held legally accountable for keeping workers on staff that relied on the visa program. But corporate I-9 management systems are often not designed to flag sudden early terminations. The Trump administration's decision to cancel the program doesn't allow companies to easily search which CHNV visas are now cancelled. Complicating matters further, the Biden-era permit falls under the same immigration employment category as other immigration work programs. Walmart currently operates over 4,800 stores across the US These problems make it nearly impossible for most employers to separate CHNV applicants from staffers on still-in-place visa programs. For many retailers, the paperwork issue has created a thorny situation that could put them in trouble with the Trump administration if they keep employees. But if they do comply with the Trump administration's orders, asking employees about their visa status could also leave companies susceptible to discrimination lawsuits. Locke called the sudden shift an 'immediate compliance crisis for retailers.' Walmart is not the only company that appears to be taking the proactive step of reviewing work authorization ahead of schedule, based on the government's broader warning. Disney also reportedly started laying off staff at its Florida parks that relied on the visa program. But according to Jamie E. Wright, a trial attorney in Los Angeles, the issue exposes how companies need to update their employee tracking systems. The outdated tech, in her estimation, has left visa-holding employees as collateral damage in the rapidly-shifting visa landscape. 'We're not talking about people trying to bend the rules. These are employees who've done everything right,' she said.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Long lines, dirty bathrooms, closed campsites await visitors: national park experts warn
The Brief Experts warn staffing cuts will jeopardize summer travel plans to national parks. Reduced staffing could lead to long lines, dirty bathrooms, and could compromise public safety. Staffing shortages could also increase wildfire risks, park advocates warned. YOSEMITE, Calif. - From Yosemite to Joshua Tree, Sequoia, and Redwood national parks, millions of visitors flock to these world-renowned treasures located in California during the summer months. And as Memorial Day marks the unofficial kick-off to the summer travel season, there are dire and mounting concerns about not only the deterioration of the visitor experience at national parks, but the dangers posed by the drastic cuts to staff in recent months. "This is a crisis," said Don Neubacher, former superintendent of Yosemite National Park and an executive council member of The Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, a group made up of more than 4,100 National Park Service current, former, and retired employees as well as volunteers. Neubacher warned visitors to be braced for possible issues, including long lines at entrances, closed campgrounds, dirty bathrooms, and overflowing trash bins. "After all the chaotic cuts and hiring freezes, the quality experience that visitors have come to expect will be difficult to provide," the national park advocate said. Dig deeper The coalition also said that the cuts put the health and safety of visitors at risk. Experts noted that park rangers often serve as the first line of defense in medical rescues and other emergencies and are tasked with keeping trails and roads maintained and safe for visitors. So, with fewer staff on hand, they warned of ill-maintained and potentially dangerous infrastructure as well as slow response times for emergency rescue operations. "A poor visitor experience not only fails to uphold the mission of the NPS [National Parks Service], it will jeopardize the protection of these spaces for the future," said former superintendent of Channel Islands National Park and coalition executive council member Russell Galipeau. National park experts said a major concern for the entire state of California was the heightened risk of wildfires as temperatures soar amid extremely dry conditions. "The gutting of the federal workforce that cared for these places means that there are fewer National Park Service employees removing invasive species and reducing fire risk on an ongoing basis. And, when the time comes, there will be fewer people to serve as secondary fire-fighting support in national parks when needed," the coalition said in a news release. SEE ALSO:Gov. Newsom signs $170 million wildfire resiliency bill By the numbers Figures showed that the number of visitors to national parks has surged in recent years, with a record-breaking 331 million people visiting last year. In California, the coalition put that figure at more than 12 million, with national parks sites including Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Redwood all seeing increases in foot traffic. "Yet staffing at national parks has not kept pace," the coalition said. Experts noted that even before the Trump administration's cuts, parks were operating understaffed and underfunded. "The most recent wave of personnel and funding cuts in February targeted frontline staff and forced land management agencies to eliminate critical seasonal positions ahead of peak visitor season," the coalition said. Last month, amid mounting pressure and criticism, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed national parks to "remain open and accessible." In an April 3 order, he stated that his department and the NPS "are committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation's most treasured places." But park advocates and others criticized the move, saying it was contradictory and impossible to implement the directive given the workforce reductions. The coalition said that the interior secretary's order ignores the realities of what is needed to safely manage national parks. The group also slammed a proposed White House budget that's being deemed as one that would bring about the largest cuts ever to the National Park Service. The coalition said that according to figures crunched by the National Parks Conservation Association, the proposed budget could lead to drastic closures of at least 350 national park sites nationwide, "effectively more than 75% of the national park system." Park advocates noted that the slashes to staff and resources go beyond politics and their effects will be consequential and long-lasting. "It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, Americans love their national parks," said Galipeau. "We're supposed to manage these places for the enjoyment of future generations. Your children and their grandchildren should all make memories visiting our parks. But now, that future is in jeopardy." The U.S. Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to KTVU's request for comment.
