WASHINGTON–Yesterday marked the deadline for federal agencies—including NCUA–to provide the Trump administration with their plans for laying off employees as part of the White House’s broader effort to reduce the federal workforce.

The agency has declined to provide comment to The CU Daily on whether it has provided such a plan for workforce reductions. NCUA has approximately 1,200 employees across its three regions in the U.S.

One source told The CU Daily that the NCUA board held a closed meeting on to address its response, but NCUA also did not provide comment to confirm or deny.

Judge Blasts Firings

But the deadline for the layoff reductions comes at the same time a federal judge has blasted the firings of tens of thousands of federal employees to date and ordered that they be reinstated. 

Federal Judge William Alsup said the Trump administration’s claim the mass firings have been based on performance was “a lie,” and he called the information it provided in court “a sham.”

The judge ordered the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture and Treasury to reinstate thousands probationary employees who have been terminated.

The departments must “offer reinstatement to any and all probationary employees terminated on or about February 13,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote in the order.

The court noted that on Feb. 13, the Office of Personnel Management held a call with department and agency heads and directed them to fire probationary employees.

Alsup further noted the OPM has provided departments and agencies with a template to use for firing the employees that said, “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.”

‘A Sad Day’

“It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee, and say it was based on performance, when they know good and well, that’s a lie,” Alsup said in his ruling. 

But Alsup added that it is his view there is nothing wrong with reductions in force “if it’s done correctly under the law.”

That ruling does not affect employees whose jobs are about to be eliminated by the federal government. It’s also unknown whether any NCUA employees, should they be terminated, would seek to file lawsuits of their own.

Challenge for CUs

Credit unions, especially those that serve the departments where the mass firings have taken place, have been whipsawed attempting to gauge what’s next and to help members. 

To date, approximately 100,000 federal employees have been terminated under direction of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The federal government employees approximately 2.3 million people.