Federal judge in San Francisco and Maryland ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to reinstate numerous probationary workers who were dismissed across various agencies.
In San Francisco, Judge William Alsup criticised the government’s methods on Thursday whilst halting the administration’s substantial reduction of federal staff. The judge determined that the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell, executed terminations without proper authority.
He further mandated several departments, including Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury, to promptly offer reinstatement to staff terminated around February 13 and 14. The departments must provide details within seven days regarding probationary employees and their compliance with the directive.
The administration lodged an appeal against the injunction with the Ninth Circuit Court. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s position, stating, “The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”
Judge Alsup expressed concern about the government’s circumvention of workforce reduction regulations by dismissing probationary workers lacking appeal rights. He criticised the practice of citing poor performance as grounds for dismissal despite recent positive evaluations.
“These mass-firings of federal workers were not just an attack on government agencies and their ability to function, they were also a direct assault on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, one of the plaintiffs.
Meanwhile, in the second ruling issued by the Maryland court, judge temporarily halted the widespread dismissals of probationary federal employees and mandated the reinstatement of thousands who were terminated, marking the second such ruling within 24 hours.
US District Judge James Bredar issued the directive on Thursday evening in response to legal proceedings initiated by 19 states and the District of Columbia against several federal agencies, challenging the legality of these extensive terminations. The states argue that the Trump administration caught them off guard by disregarding established regulations governing large-scale redundancies, which are presently affecting state governments as they attempt to support those who have abruptly lost their employment.
The order resulted from legal action by labour unions and organisations opposing the Republican administration’s federal workforce reduction efforts.
As these judges ruled against Trump administration’s orders, a Washington DC judge ruled against unions, directing workers to follow established employment procedures.
Government lawyers maintained the dismissals’ legitimacy, citing individual agency reviews of probationary employees.
The federal system includes approximately 200,000 probationary workers, comprising new employees and recently promoted staff. California employs about 15,000, serving in various capacities from fire prevention to veterans’ services, according to the coalition’s lawsuit.
The plaintiffs documented that numerous agencies cited OPM directives for the terminations, using template emails citing performance issues as justification.
