DOGE layoffs hit New Jersey: Federal job losses revealed

⚫ NJ staff among fed layoffs
⚫ State joins lawsuit
⚫ ‘Illegal mass firings’

TRENTON — Several hundred New Jersey residents are among the first casualties of massive layoffs across federal agencies, prompting a new lawsuit by the state attorney general.

New Jersey is among 19 states and the District of Columbia that have sued federal officials for not giving advance notice of these job cuts, racking up excessive expenses.

The state says 400 terminated federal employees in New Jersey have applied for state unemployment benefits since Jan. 20.

Probationary employees have either been newly hired, promoted or changed offices. They are generally subject to a probationary period of one or two years.

The coalition of attorneys general claims that the administration ignored federal laws and regulations for such large-scale federal reductions in force.

In a layoff of 50 or more employees, a federal agency must generally give at least 60 days’ advance notice to state governments to allow for time to set up “rapid response” information, resources and services for affected workers.

In the lawsuit filed on Thursday, 21 agencies have been named. New Jersey is asking the court to:

▪️ Rule that the mass firing of probationary employees is illegal

▪️ Reinstate unlawfully fired employees

▪️ Stop further similar termination

▪️ Identify affected employees

Platkin joined the attorneys general of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.

“In its callous and reckless mass firings of probationary federal employees, the Trump Administration has harmed thousands of employees and families themselves, including many veterans in our state who have dutifully served their country in uniform,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a written statement on Thursday.

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