USDA pushes ahead with agency reshuffle despite court-ordered stay

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters the department remains "full-bore ahead" with its reorganization, despite a federal judge’s Oct. 13 stay that bars closing offices or moving employees beyond their commuting area. The agency appealed, but the Ninth Circuit left the injunction in place. Consequently, the department proceeds with actions not covered by the stay, such as internal reassignments within the Washington, D.C., region.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service, the USDA’s second-largest component, is now posting critical vacancies for hub locations in Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Raleigh, North Carolina, and expects staff to apply by Nov. 2. Employees who received relocation notices say they cannot move and may have to quit. The Food and Nutrition Service has formally restructured its operations but has not begun any relocations. Additionally, a USDA employee whose voluntary move was unrelated to the reorganization was denied, forcing his family to cancel a lease and a job change.