U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria is ordering a temporary pause of the Agriculture Department’s imminent plans to relocate employees across the country. Chhabria issued an administrative stay on Sept. 14 putting a hold on deadlines for all “management directed reassignment” letters USDA has issued so far, as part of its sweeping reorganization plans. The administrative stay will last until Oct. 2. The court’s next hearing in this case is currently slated for Sept. 29. Chhabria specified that this administrative stay includes “any deadlines requiring employees to report to new locations or to accept or decline reassignments or relocations.” “Defendants shall not take any action to implement, carry out, effectuate, or enforce those deadlines, including proceeding with any termination, separation, or other disciplinary proceeding against an employee, or placing an employee on Absent Without Leave status, based on the employee’s decision to decline reassignment, not to respond to a notice of reassignment, or not to relocate,” he added.