Unions sue to block USDA reorganization, arguing it’s a RIF in disguise

A coalition of federal employee labor unions, nonprofits and local governments is asking the courts to halt the Trump administration’s reorganization of the Agriculture Department that entails moving thousands of employees away from the Washington, D.C., area to new regional hubs across the country. The plaintiffs are arguing that the pending employee relocations to other areas of the country are an attempt to downsize USDA’s workforce. 

“The actions of this administration to reorganize USDA are a ruse for forcing employees to quit because they work on programs — like feeding low-income women and children, protecting our forests or scientific research — that this administration opposes for political reasons,” said Corinne Johnson — a partner at Altshuler Berzon, one of the lead co-counsels representing the plaintiffs — in a statement. “That is unlawful.” 

The filing alleges that the USDA reorganization, which officials began to implement this spring, needs congressional approval, as Agriculture’s fiscal 2026 appropriations bill included a provision blocking officials from relocating offices or employees without authorization from the legislative branch. Specifically, the filing is part of an existing lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s reorganization of federal agencies more broadly. 

According to the attorneys, USDA employees have started to receive letters ordering them to report to new locations by September or October. 

“USDA’s actions will force many of the experienced and dedicated employees who run the agency’s programs to leave, thereby gutting programs, interrupting and eliminating the delivery of important services and harming the employees and their families,” they wrote in a memo. “USDA’s actions will also eliminate locally based services and research. The harms are as certain and as widespread as if USDA had imposed a large-scale reduction-in-force and cut program staff directly.”

One such letter obtained by Government Executive from USDA’s Research, Education and Economics division gave employees until near the end of July to decide whether to accept the relocation assignment. The letter said the department would provide “relocation benefits” but also is offering Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (“early out”) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (“buyouts”) to impacted REE employees regardless of whether they’re retirement eligible or not. 

USDA did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit or whether the VERA and VSIP offer is available to impacted employees departmentwide. Department officials have previously argued that the reorganization would not interrupt “critical” programs and that moving offices to cities across the country would lead to improved service delivery. 

According to federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management, USDA’s workforce has already decreased from more than 98,000 in 2024 to around 77,500 currently.