Four unions representing USDA employees have returned to federal court seeking to stop the Trump administration from moving forward with a department-wide reorganization that would relocate employees, close offices and restructure several agencies.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, names USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins as defendants. The unions are joined by several local governments and nonprofit organizations that contend USDA is implementing the reorganization without required congressional approval.
The plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), National Treasury Employees Union and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
USDA announced its reorganization plan in July 2025 around four areas: reducing the workforce, moving employees out of Washington, D.C., eliminating management layers and consolidating support functions.
USDA maintains that the broader reorganization is intended to streamline the department and move employees and services closer to the people it serves.
The unions argue USDA cannot carry out key portions of the plan without congressional approval. Their complaint points to fiscal year 2026 appropriations language restricting USDA from using funds to relocate employees, eliminate programs or reorganize offices without notifying and receiving approval from House and Senate appropriations committees.
“On behalf of the tens of thousands of USDA employees AFGE represents, I am urging the court to put an immediate halt to this illegal and disruptive reorganization,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “USDA employees keep our food safe, stand behind our farmers, make sure our children are fed, and keep thousands of American businesses running.”
New lawsuit follows judge’s ruling
The new case comes shortly after U.S. District Judge Susan Illston declined to consider an earlier lawsuit brought by AFGE regarding the USDA reorganization.
In a Sept. 2 order, Illston concluded that the USDA claims presented “new and distinct” legal issues and should be pursued in a separate lawsuit. She denied the plaintiffs’ request to supplement their existing complaint and denied their preliminary injunction motion as moot.
Illston did not decide whether USDA’s reorganization is legal. Instead, she found that the dispute over fiscal year 2026 appropriations restrictions raised separate legal questions that should be considered in a new lawsuit, not as part of the broader federal workforce case.
The unions then filed the new case and renewed their request for a preliminary injunction.
According to court documents, USDA began publicly rolling out parts of the reorganization in late spring and notified congressional committees of planned changes in April and June. The complaint says USDA has since started implementing changes across several agencies, including relocating employees from the Washington, D.C., area and regional offices to new locations around the country.
Court documents said USDA is carrying out many of the relocations through Management Directed Reassignment letters, which give employees a deadline to accept a new duty station and another deadline to report there. Employees have generally been given about 30 days to make each decision, with the earliest relocation deadline set for Sept. 21.
The unions argue the reorganization could further drain USDA of experienced employees and institutional knowledge. According to court documents, at least 36% of the more than 700 employees who received relocation notices this summer initially declined to move, and the plaintiffs contend the final attrition rate could be higher as other employees seek hardship exemptions or accommodations. The complaint also says many of the affected agencies were already understaffed before the relocations began.
“The consequences will extend far beyond Washington,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “Forcing experienced USDA employees to choose between uprooting their families and losing their jobs will drive out expertise, devastate USDA and its agencies, and disrupt critical services that support farmers and rural communities, feed families, advance agricultural research, and protect our forests and public lands.”
The unions are asking the court to declare USDA’s reorganization unlawful and block the department from carrying it out. They are also seeking a preliminary injunction to halt office closures, employee relocations and other actions tied to the plan while the lawsuit moves forward, including the management-directed reassignments already issued to employees. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
