Is it possible for a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s practice requiring some agency employees to work without pay during a government shutdown ever to receive a full hearing?
That’s the question facing U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who on Wednesday heard arguments about whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the National Treasury Employees Union and two federal workers alleging that during the 35-day partial government shutdown earlier this year, employees required to work through the lapse were denied their constitutional rights. The suit also accuses the Trump administration of violating the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prevents agencies from spending money in excess of what lawmakers have appropriated.
In January, NTEU and a separate group of federal workers filed the legal challenges, which argue that requiring federal employees to work without pay violates the Fifth and 13th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and that the Trump administration’s efforts to make the last shutdown “as painless as possible” violated appropriations law. Those efforts included recalling more than 30,000 Internal Revenue Service employees to process tax returns.
While the shutdown continued, Leon declined to issue a temporary restraining order barring agencies from forcing employees to work without pay, citing the potential for “chaos.” After the government reopened in late January, the union and employees signaled they wished to continue with their lawsuit, but the Trump administration said that with the government open, the case became moot.
NTEU has argued that the case should be allowed to proceed because it falls under a legal exception to moot issues called “capable of repetition, yet evading review.” This exception exists for plaintiffs ..
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