The deadline to shutter operations at Beltsville Agricultural Center (BARC) loomed large this month. On September 1, a federal judge declined to rule for an injunction on the reorganization of BARC, finding it wasn’t relevant to the initial case. However, on September 8, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), along with a coalition of others, including Prince George’s County, filed a new dedicated lawsuit to challenge the restructuring — AFGE et al. v. USDA et al. Last week, on Monday, September 14, a federal judge issued a stay. For many employees that means a pause on instructions to report to a new location by October 5. The stay is in effect until October 2 and another court hearing is scheduled for September 29.
We have withheld the names of the BARC employees we spoke with for this article to protect them from retaliation for speaking to the press. They are identified by their type of position instead.
New Instructions…