"Ranking Member Markey Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling to Reinstate and Provide Backpay to SBA Workers"

Summary

A statement dated December 18, 2025 from Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) on a ruling by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for the unions representing Small Business Administration (SBA) employees separated through a Reduction in Force (RIF) on October 29, 2025. According to the release, the court held that the separations violated the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 and that the SBA must return the employees to work and provide backpay by December 23, 2025. The quoted statement pledges to press the SBA to comply. The release recounts a February letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and the Save Our Staff (SOS) Act, which would require reemployment with backpay of anyone removed through a RIF from January 20, 2025 through enactment.

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Title: Ranking Member Markey Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling to Reinstate and Provide Backpay to SBA Workers
Date: 2025-12-18

Ranking Member Markey Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling to Reinstate and Provide Backpay to SBA Workers

December 18, 2025

(Washington, December 18) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled in favor of the unions representing the employees at the Small Business Administration (SBA) who were unlawfully separated from the agency through a Reduction in Force (RIF) on October 29, 2025. The court held that the SBA violated the “Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026” with these separations and that the SBA must return RIF’d employees to work and provide backpay by December 23, 2025.

“This ruling is a clear victory for workers, the rule of law, and basic fairness,” said Ranking Member Markey. “These dedicated public servants were cast aside, right before the holiday season, gutting critical resources in the federal government and leaving the services Americans rely on unable to function.

“I’m thankful for the court’s decision, and I will continue to press the SBA to fully and promptly comply with the ruling, make workers whole, and ensure that this kind of unlawful behavior never happens again.”

In February, Ranking Member Markey led Democratic committee members in a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler demanding answers on the arbitrary mass firings by the Trump Administration of SBA public servants, including loan and disaster assistance staff and veterans. In July, Ranking Member Markey introduced the Save Our Staff (SOS) Act, legislation that would prohibit the SBA from conducting RIFs in most offices of the SBA, including offices that provide counseling, training, or technical assistance to small businesses, carry out SBA disaster relief programs, oversee any of SBA’s lending programs, or provide contracting certifications to small business owners. In addition, the SOS Act would require the SBA Administrator to reemploy any individual that was removed as part of a RIF process from January 20, 2025, through the date of enactment. Any employee rehired under this bill would be restored to their previous position and receive backpay. The court’s ruling would, in effect, enact most of the goals of the SOS Act.

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Permalink: https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2025/12/ranking-member-markey-statement-on-u-s-district-court-ruling-to-reinstate-and-provide-backpay-to-sba-workers

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