Court forces Education Dept to begin rehiring fired employees

The Department of Education (ED) is reportedly working to bring back employees let go in March after a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the effort.

The layoffs took place as part of a reduction-in-force, which affected nearly half of ED’s staff, with 1,315 employees losing their jobs as part of President Donald Trump’s larger effort to dismantle the department entirely. The move was quickly met with a lawsuit, and a Biden-appointed judge ruled in May that the department’s actions would cause “irreparable harm” and ordered the reinstatement of the terminated employees.

An email reportedly sent by the department on Thursday asked the terminated employees if they had received another job since the layoffs, according to the Federal News Network. The email was apparently sent as part of an effort “to support a smooth and informed return to duty” and “assist us in understanding potential reentry timelines and identifying any accommodations that may be needed.”

ED did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Over 600 additional employees left the department through other means, alongside the reduction-in-force, such as voluntary pay-outs. While senior department officials told the DCNF at the time that the layoffs would not affect ED’s essential functions, the court’s May 22 ruling disagreed, stating it had become “effectively impossible” for the department to operate properly.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon also stated prior to the court’s decision in May that the department had already brought back some of the terminated employees, such as a few lawyers, after deciding the cuts were too deep.

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