A federal judge on Wednesday said that President Donald Trump does not have the power to fire a Democratic member from the Federal Labour Relations Authority, ordering that Susan Tsui Grundmann be reinstated.
The decision by US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, DC is said to be a setback to Trump’s bid to bring independent agencies like the Federal Labour Relations Authority, FLRA, under his control, and potentially to his efforts to drastically shrink the federal workforce.
The decision of the judge reinstating Grundmann gives it a 2-1 Democratic majority until her term expires in July.
It was gathered that the FLRA, created by the US Congress to be independent from the White House, can order federal agencies to bargain with unions and in some cases prevent agencies from firing unionized workers.
According to the judge, Trump’s move had undermined Congress’ goal of insulating the FLRA from politics.
“The independence of the FLRA was central to its creation, as Congress wanted to ensure a fair, consistent, and unbiased process for managing federal labor relations that would not shift with political whims,” Sooknanan said.
The White House and Grundmann’s lawyers have not yet commented on the issue.
It could be recalled that many federal workers have been fired since Trump took office, part of an aggressive cost-cutting initiative spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, a top White House adviser.
Nearly 30% of federal employees are reportedly represented by unions, which typically gives them more legal protections than other government workers.
According to court filings, Trump fired Grundmann, a Biden appointee, on February 11 and did not provide a reason for doing so.
Grundmann, in her lawsuit claimed that Trump violated a federal labour relations law that says FLRA members may only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
A lawyer for the Department of Justice at a hearing last week did not deny that Trump violated the law, but argued that the restrictions on the removal of FLRA members are unconstitutional.
