A federal judge today extended a block that prevents President Donald Trump’s administration from laying off thousands of federal employees amid a nearly month-long partial government shutdown.

During a hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston barred nearly 40 federal agencies from implementing layoffs, pending the outcome of a legal challenge by unions representing federal workers. The decision extends an earlier temporary ruling.

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 800,000 federal workers and is a plaintiff in the case, this week called on Republicans and Democrats to put aside their differences and pass a spending bill so that government employees can return to work.

About 4,100 employees at eight agencies had been notified that they w

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