Rise Initiative Offers Free Legal Help to Fired Federal Workers

The latest among widespread job cuts in the U.S. federal workforce prompted the coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups to launch a new drive, called “Rise: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network.” This program is aimed at giving free legal assistance to federal employees who lost their jobs in this round of layoffs or believe their rights have been violated.

The initiative, driven by the AFL-CIO and We The Action, would recruit and train thousands of volunteer lawyers to offer free consultations to affected workers. The process will begin with 20-minute initial screening calls and one-hour consultations for eligible employees. Then they can choose to have a lawyer on mutually agreed terms.

The fact is, the need is now much bigger ever since Trump, with advisor Elon Musk, has been shredding federal agencies. Thousands of recently hired workers have been sacked; and the avalanche continues for other staff members. Even tens of thousands more have taken buyouts to leave their jobs.

While unions, non-profits, and Democratic state officials have launched legal challenges against these actions, the coalition, by contrast, takes a step further to affirm that workers can seek legal services to ensure their rights are well-protected

The “Rise” initiative has been designed to fill that gap and allow affected staff to connect with attorneys who can guide them through their available options.

Major federal employee unions and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights have rallied behind the project. Information about the number of participating lawyers or involvement from the private law firms has not been made available.