Latest news with #terminations
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US merit board judge certifies class of fired Interior Department workers
July 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. civil service board judge has ruled that hundreds of U.S. Department of Interior employees who were fired and then reinstated amid the Trump administration's purge of the federal workforce can pursue claims that their terminations were illegal as a group. Chief Administrative Judge Sara Snyder of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board in a decision on Thursday, opens new tab said the validity of the February mass firing of 1,712 probationary employees at the Interior Department posed a common question that would best be addressed in a class action. Probationary workers typically have less than one year of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees in new jobs, and they are generally easier to fire than career government workers. About 20 similar cases involving different federal agencies are pending at the merit board, collectively challenging the Trump administration's mass firings of roughly 25,000 probationary workers in February. Snyder in May certified a class, opens new tab in a case involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But the fate of the cases is uncertain because the board, which must review administrative judges' decisions before they can be enforced, does not have a quorum that can issue rulings. Unions and nonprofits also sued in federal court over the mass firings, and many of the probationary workers were reinstated after judges said the terminations were likely illegal. Higher courts paused those decisions pending appeals. Many workers were returned to full duty while some were placed indefinitely on paid administrative leave. At the Interior Department, nearly 1,000 probationary workers were returned to full duty, 274 remain on leave, and nearly 600 resigned or accepted buyouts to quit, according to Snyder's decision. The class certified by Snyder does not include 323 workers who accepted buyouts, or an unidentified number who have completed their one-year probationary periods or were fired over their individual conduct or performance. The White House and the Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The department manages and conserves federal and tribal lands, including national parks, and their natural resources. Danny Rosenthal, a lawyer for the workers who filed the complaint, said the decision was a critical milestone in the case. "Practically speaking, this means that workers will have the opportunity to bring their claims forward together, giving more people a real chance to seek justice for their firings," Rosenthal said in a statement. The plaintiffs in all of the pending cases claim the mass terminations of probationary employees amounted to layoffs that are supposed to be guided by complex civil service rules. They are seeking to have the terminations removed from their personnel files. Probationary workers have limited legal protections compared with other civil servants, but agencies are still required to explain why they are being fired and give them advance notice of mass layoffs. President Donald Trump fired Cathy Harris, a Democrat on the three-member merit board in January and the term of another Democratic board member expired in February, leaving the board with a single Republican member and no quorom to decide workers' appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court in May allowed Harris to be removed while her lawsuit challenging her termination plays out. It could set important precedent on Trump's powers to remove officials from agencies designed to be independent from the White House. The merit board's resources are likely to be strained by an influx of new cases when a quorum is restored. About 10,800 appeals have been filed with the board since Trump took office in January. The case is Interior Probationary Employees Class v. Department of the Interior, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, No. DC-0752-25-1550-I-1. For the class: Danny Rosenthal of James & Hoffman For the Interior Department: Not available Read more: US federal workers hit back at Trump mass firings with class action complaints US Supreme Court halts reinstatement of fired federal employees US Supreme Court lets Trump keep labor board members sidelined for now
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Abortion numbers rose to 10,852 in State in 2024
The number of women who had abortions in Ireland last year rose to 10,852. The figure, which was released by the Department of Health , represents the highest number of terminations carried out since the law was changed following the 2018 referendum. The majority (10,711) were early pregnancy terminations, where a woman takes two types of medicines prescribed by a GP up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. A total of 108 terminations were due to a diagnosed fatal foetal abnormality where there was a condition likely to lead to death of the foetus. A further 24 pregnancies were terminated due to risk to the life or health of the mother, while nine terminations involved an emergency intervention. READ MORE The highest number of terminations in 2024 were recorded in January (1,056), May (967) and July (952) with the lowest in February (820). Dublin was the area of residence given by 4,125 women, with 957 from Cork and 507 from Galway. A total of 450 women did not disclose their county while eight travelled from Northern Ireland. The number of terminations carried out in 2023 was 10,033. About 240 women travel to the UK from Ireland every year to access abortion care, said the National Women's Council. Barrister Marie O'Shea was commissioned by the Department of Health to conduct a review on foot of the introduction of abortion legislation three years after its implementation in early 2019. Among her recommendations were that the mandatory three-day waiting period, before termination medication can be prescribed, be made optional. Speaking last year, Ms O'Shea called on the Government to prioritise ongoing issues with the legislation, saying vulnerable women who continue to be forced abroad for terminations were being treated like 'criminals'.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Justice Dept. fires more prosecutors, support staff involved in Trump prosecutions, AP sources say
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has fired additional lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutions of President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. The overall number of terminations was not immediately clear but they cut across both the classified documents and election interference prosecutions brought by Smith, and included a handful of prosecutors who were detailed to the probes as well as Justice Department support staff and other non-lawyer personnel who aided them, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves that have not been publicly announced. The firings are part of a broader wave of terminations that have roiled the department for months and that have targeted staff who worked on cases involving Donald Trump and his supporters. In January, the Justice Department said that it had fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on prosecutions of Trump, and last month fired at least three prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases. Days ago, Patty Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, whose prosecutors handled the cases against the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, said in a social media post that she had been handed a letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi informing her that she had been fired. Smith's team in 2023 brought separate indictments accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as well as conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Neither case reached trial. The Supreme Court significantly narrowed the election interference case in a ruling that said former presidents enjoyed broad immunity from prosecution for their official acts, and a Trump-appointed judge dismissed the classified documents case by holding that Smith's appointment as special counsel was illegal. Smith ultimately withdrew both cases in November 2024 after Trump's victory, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that protects sitting presidents from federal prosecution.
Washington Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Bondi fires 20 Justice Dept. employees involved in Trump prosecutions
Attorney General Pam Bondi this week fired multiple Justice Department employees who were involved in two federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump during the Biden administration, according to several people familiar with the terminations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. In total, 20 people were fired from the department, including two prosecutors who worked under former special counsel Jack Smith, according to one person familiar with the removals. The rest of the dismissed employees were support staff and marshals who assisted those prosecutors, the person said.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Jeff Bezos' Amazon is purging workers who had status revoked under Trump: report
Amazon is purging warehouse workers who had their work authorizations revoked after President Donald Trump's administration ended an immigration program put in place under President Joe Biden, according to The New York Times. Hundreds of employees at a warehouse in West Jefferson, in central Ohio, have lost their jobs as part of the purge. Across the country, thousands of foreign workers have lost their right to live and work in the U.S. and been removed from jobs where they were in high demand. The Trump administration has orchestrated immigration raids in workplaces and at businesses such as Home Depot seeking out illegal day laborers. A Springfield, Ohio Haitian community leader, Viles Dorsainvil, told The NYT that the dismissals are 'not unique to Amazon,' adding that terminations have also occurred in other warehouses, auto-parts plants, and stores. The removals are taking place at many of Amazon's more than 1,000 facilities across the country. The terminations have affected warehouses in Massachusetts and Staten Island, New York. Hundreds were let go at a warehouse in Florida, The NYT found. Amazon told the The NYT it had prepared for the change in policy by the Trump administration, changing its staffing plans as it waited for guidance from the administration, which arrived in June. The Independent has reached out to Amazon for comment. 'We're supporting employees impacted by the government's recent changes in immigration policy,' a spokesperson for the company told The NYT. Amazon has reportedly informed its workers they may be eligible for free or low-cost outside legal services. The company went on a hiring spree as the pandemic increased demand for deliveries and it provides information in several languages in some of its warehouses, including Spanish, Vietnamese, and Haitian Creole. Other workers at the West Jefferson warehouse come from Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Somalia. However, workers and local officials told the paper that Haitians make up the largest share of foreign workers and may outnumber Americans. The Supreme Court granted a temporary approval on May 30 for the Trump administration to end a program called 'humanitarian parole.' It had allowed more than half a million migrants to quickly get work permits if they had a financial sponsor. The migrants came from countries experiencing political upheaval, such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The effort to roll back the program was part of the administration's promise to conduct mass deportations. The Department of Homeland Security said on June 12 that it had started notifying migrants the program was coming to an end, arguing that the migrants had not been properly vetted and that they undercut Americans. As the change was announced, D.H.S. spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that the end of the program 'will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety and a return to America First.' In a June 22 email obtained by The Times, Amazon told its managers that it had 'received the first list from D.H.S. identifying impacted Amazon employees' from the program, in addition to 'some employees outside of this specific program whose work authorization is similarly affected.' Amazon reportedly told its managers the affected employees would be made aware the following day via a push notification in the employee app. If they couldn't provide alternative documents showing their right to work in the U.S. in the next five days, they would be suspended without pay and subsequently dismissed. 'The Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.) has informed us that the work authorization that you had submitted is no longer valid,' the notification stated.
