Notice To Current Federal Employees

In recent weeks, multiple press reports have described preparations by the Trump Administration to use the government shutdown as a pretext to terminate large numbers of federal employees—particularly those perceived as insufficiently ‘loyal.’ These reports align with increasingly explicit public statements by President Trump and his advisors.

At a rally, Trump declared: “We’re cleaning out the Democrats and the disloyal bureaucrats.” In a recent interview, he warned: “There could be firings … we could cut projects that they wanted … and they’d be permanently cut.” NBC and AP reports quoted the administration as stating that the firings would target ‘Democrat‑oriented staff.’ According to AP News, ‘President Trump said he was making good on threats to fire thousands of federal workers… the layoffs would largely target “Democrat‑oriented” staff.’

These are not rhetorical flourishes. They reflect a strategy: mass terminations grounded not in performance or misconduct, but in political affiliation, perceived loyalty, or dissent. That strategy is unconstitutional.

Your Rights and the Role of the Courts

If you are terminated under such circumstances, you may have legal claims under the Constitution, the Civil Service Reform Act, and statutes that protect federal employees from discrimination or retaliation for political views or protected speech. Litigation can be the mechanism to enforce those rights—but it depends, in part, on preserving the evidence now.

What Is a “Litigation Hold”?

A “Litigation Hold” (also known as a “document preservation notice”) is a formal written demand to your agency that it preserve all records relating to your termination once litigation is reasonably anticipated. Under the Federal Records Act and the Department of Justice’s Justice Manual (§§ 4‑1.431, 4‑1.432), agencies must suspend routine destruction or deletion of records when they know litigation might follow. Issuing such a notice helps preserve communications, metadata, drafts, and other evidence that might later prove unlawful political motive.

A Template You Can Use

Below is a Document Preservation Notice Template. Copy it into your own file, edit for your name, position, and agency, and modify as you see fit to reflect your circumstances, and particularly that my be relevant to your Department or Agency. The items 1-12 are suggested — you can add or remove items as you see fit. You should, of course, keep a copy of whatever you use. You may deliver it during termination (in the offboarding process) or mail/email it afterward. Retaining your own version is essential.

DOCUMENT PRESERVATION NOTICE

[Name of Agency Head or Designated Records Officer; Include Office of General Counsel]

[Agency Name]

[Agency Address]

From: [Employee Name]

[Position Title]

[Office/Division]

Date: [Insert Date]

Re: Notice of Anticipated Litigation and Demand for Preservation of Documents

This letter serves as formal notice that I, [Employee Name], am reasonably likely to contest the legality of my termination from employment with [Agency Name], and anticipate initiating legal action concerning that termination and related actions by agency and Executive Branch officials. Accordingly, this letter demands the preservation of all records, data, and communications—regardless of form—related to my employment, termination, and any related actions affecting other similarly situated employees.

I. Background

I am aware of numerous public statements made by Executive Branch officials, including the President of the United States, asserting that the termination or reassignment of federal employees should be based on perceived political affiliation, expressions of criticism of the President or administration policies, or other forms of political or ideological disagreement.

Such statements include direct references to the intent to remove or replace employees who are not ‘loyal’ to the administration or who are viewed as ‘opposed’ to its agenda, and to prioritize the dismissal of individuals who have exercised their constitutional rights to free speech or association under the First Amendment.

Based on these statements, and on the surrounding circumstances of my own termination, I have reason to believe that my dismissal was politically motivated and unlawfully retaliatory. I further believe that my termination was part of a broader effort to implement unlawful policies or directives relating to the removal of federal employees based on political or ideological criteria.

For these reasons, I anticipate legal proceedings and therefore require your immediate action to preserve all potentially relevant materials as described below.

II. Scope of Preservation

1. The decision to terminate, reassign, discipline, or otherwise take adverse action against me or other employees on the basis of political affiliation, viewpoint, or constitutionally protected expression;

2. Communications by or involving the President, the White House, the Office of Presidential Personnel, the Office of Management and Budget, or other Executive Branch components relating to personnel decisions within [Agency Name]; such records include communications from outside individuals serving in official, or non-official, capacity and providing advice to the U.S. Government;

3. Implementation or discussion of any directive, memorandum, or Executive Order relating to ‘Schedule F,’ ‘Schedule G,’ or any similar reclassification or loyalty-based employment policy;

4. Communications among agency officials, human resources personnel, or legal counsel referencing my name, position, performance, or termination;

5. Any discussions, memoranda, or analyses referencing the First Amendment, whistleblower protections, or civil service laws in connection with terminations or reassignments; and

6. Personnel files, evaluations, or disciplinary materials concerning me or similarly situated employees.

7. Any communications or other records (including computer logs) reflecting research into databases which would reveal voting, political donations, party affiliation, or other information concerning political activity of employees, including me.

8. Any communications or other records (including computer logs) reflecting research into speech or writing on social media, or in other public fora, by employees, including me.

9. Any lists or charts of employees of the Agency used to make decisions to terminate, downgrade, or otherwise penalize employees because of their political affiliation, or previous service in other Presidential Administrations – this includes, but is not limited to lists referred to as “blacklists” or “hit-lists” of employees.

10. Any documents or records evidencing or recording access by the Department or Agency to outside lists, including websites, purporting to identify employees for firings, including, but not limited to Inside Biden’s Basement https://www.insidebidensbasement.org/ ; DHS Bureaucrat Watch List https://www.dhswatchlist.com/; DEI Watchlist https://www.deiwatchlist.com/; American Accountability Foundation – “Watch Lists” / Blacklists

11. Any documents or records memorializing or recording inquiries made to any element of the U.S. Intelligence Community or the intelligence elements (including the members of the Intelligence Enterprise of the Department of Homeland Security) seeking information regarding me, or any other employee since January 2025.

12. Any communications or other records (including computer logs) from persons outside our agency, including both officials of other government agencies and persons not employed by the federal government regarding my loyalty, political views, trustworthiness, or suitability for continued employment at this agency.

This preservation duty includes, but is not limited to, emails, text messages, instant messages, memoranda, handwritten notes, meeting summaries, calendar entries, and any other records stored on paper, agency computers, personal devices used for agency business, or cloud-based storage platforms.

III. Preservation Obligation

As litigation is reasonably foreseeable, [Agency Name] and its officials are under a legal obligation to preserve these materials under the Federal Records Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 3101 et seq.), the Justice Manual § 4-1.431 and § 4-1.432 (requiring agency counsel to impose, monitor, and manage an appropriate litigation hold once litigation is reasonably anticipated), and relevant case law governing spoliation and evidence preservation.

The Department of Justice’s Justice Manual specifically provides that agency counsel must confirm that an appropriate litigation hold has been imposed and that all relevant custodians, records officers, and information technology staff are notified to suspend any automatic deletion or destruction policies until the litigation hold is lifted. Compliance with these requirements is mandatory once litigation is reasonably anticipated.

Destruction, alteration, or deletion of any such records may constitute spoliation of evidence and may expose the agency and responsible officials to sanctions once litigation is filed.

Please confirm receipt of this notice and acknowledge that a litigation hold has been instituted consistent with this demand. Confirmation should be in writing, an sent to my home address below.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Former Title, Agency]

[Personal Contact Information]