Federal government labor unions sued Tuesday to block the Trump administration from conducting mass layoffs during the potential upcoming government shutdown. Employees are usually temporarily furloughed during a shutdown, except for exempted workers, and receive back pay after a shutdown ends. But Trump and the White House budget office have suggested permanent firings could be on the table if government funding expires at midnight.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) misinterpreted federal law governing shutdowns when it issued a memo suggesting agencies should “use this opportunity” to consider layoffs for programs with lapsed funding and that aren’t priorities of the president.

“OMB’s Lapse Memorandum is a partisan a

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