US Judge Declines to Halt Proposed FEMA Workforce Reductions

A U.S. federal judge has refused, for now, to stop potential workforce reductions at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), after the agency changed its approach to renewing temporary employment contracts.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that FEMA's decision to offer re-employment to workers whose contracts had already expired, while also allowing current temporary employees to renew their contracts for up to one year, meant there was no active blanket policy preventing contract renewals. Because of those developments, the court found there was no immediate basis to grant the unions' request to preserve the jobs during the legal proceedings.

In a separate decision, the judge also rejected FEMA's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. The agency had argued that the dispute should instead be handled by a federal labor board responsible for employment-related challenges.

According to court filings, FEMA had planned not to extend the temporary contracts of thousands of disaster-response employees and reservists. Around 65 workers were informed that their contracts would end, with additional non-renewals expected over the following months.

Labor unions amended an earlier lawsuit to challenge the planned reductions, arguing they could weaken FEMA's disaster-response capabilities. The unions also contend that the staffing changes were not approved by Congress and were directed outside the agency's normal decision-making process.

The Trump administration maintains that FEMA has the authority to determine appropriate staffing levels. President Donald Trump has previously suggested eliminating FEMA and shifting emergency preparedness responsibilities to individual states. His administration also established a council to review the agency's operations.