A federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving the Forest Service headquarters out of Washington and relocating about 2,600 employees nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria issued the stay Tuesday, Oct. 13. He found the USDA is likely violating congressional spending restrictions by using appropriated funds for office closures and employee relocations Congress never approved.
The ruling keeps the Forest Service headquarters in D.C. instead of Salt Lake City, preserves the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, and halts plans to close regional offices at eight USDA agencies.
"The most appropriate remedy is indeed to stay USDA's reorganization expenditures, full stop," Chhabria wrote in his 40-page order.
The case was brought by four federal employee unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), along with local governments and nonprofits. They argued the USDA began reorganizing without required approval from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, according to WTOP.
The ruling lands in a region already reeling from federal workforce cuts. The D.C.-Maryland metropolitan division lost 25,800 federal jobs over the 12 months ending in August, according to the D.C. Department of Employment Services. The area's unemployment rate stood at 5.0 percent in August.
Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy told WTOP the ruling saved an estimated 1,000 jobs at the Beltsville center. Maryland would have lost $450 million in gross domestic product had the facility closed, Braveboy said.
"The soil that they have used for testing has been there for dozens of years, and so it really does lend to more accurate research and testing," Braveboy told WTOP.
The stay bars the USDA from closing offices at the affected agencies and from relocating employees outside their local commuting areas, according to Government Executive. It does not prevent the agency from moving employees within the D.C. region.
Chhabria noted the relief could be short-lived. The congressional spending restrictions at the heart of the case expire Dec. 11 under a continuing resolution. If Congress does not renew them, the USDA could resume its plans.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said at the end of September that the USDA would appeal if a judge issued an injunction, according to Farm Policy News. WTOP reported it had reached out to the USDA for comment on the ruling.
AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement that the forced relocations were about "pushing experienced people out the door," according to Common Dreams. The USDA had already cut about 20,000 employees through voluntary separation incentives, roughly a fifth of its total workforce, Government Executive reported.
The Forest Service alone sent relocation notices to more than 6,000 employees in March, according to the court's order. The stay remains in effect while the lawsuit proceeds, and the USDA has two business days to notify affected employees of its terms.
