Layoffs are never a painless exercise, but the Trump administration's effort to fire federal workers while the government is shut down is driving confusion and chaos beyond a typical termination, court filings show.

Why it matters: Documents from a federal court case challenging shutdown firings detail an unusual mess in the latest setback for federal workers this year.

Catch up quick: In early October, while agencies were shuttered, and many on furlough — not working, not getting paid — firing notices went out to about 4,000 people. • A lawsuit filed by federal worker unions alleges that firings in a shutdown are unlawful, and that the terminations have been arbitrary, and politically motivated. • Federal judge Susan Illston in San Francisco blocked the firings in two separate decis

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