[U.S. Judge Temporarily Blocks Federal Government from Firing Employees During Shutdown] According to a report by Jinse Finance, a U.S. judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt its plan to lay off thousands of federal employees during the government shutdown. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, based in San Francisco, issued the ruling on Wednesday. Since last week, more than 4,100 federal employees have received layoff notices. The order is not a final decision on the merits of the case. This means that if the projects involve union members who filed the lawsuit, the more than 20 federal agencies mentioned in the case are prohibited from issuing new layoff notices. The ruling implies that while the judge considers whether to impose a longer-term injunction, the government must pause any actions related to the notices already issued.