WASHINGTON — Thousands of provisional federal government employees have been dismissed over the past few weeks as part of President Donald Trump's Extensive reductions in the federal workforce must be restored right away, according to orders issued Thursday by federal judges in California and Maryland.
The initial ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, marks one of the most significant judicial setbacks thus far in this case. Trump administration's efforts, led by senior White House advisor Elon Musk , to eliminate the federal bureaucracy.
The judge instructed six federal entities — specifically, the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Treasury — to bring back probationary workers who had been newly employed or advanced but then dismissed under the previous Trump administration.
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Judge Alsup, appointed during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, stated that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which handles personnel matters for the federal government, didn’t have the power to dismiss employees and acted illegally when doing so. However, the judge focused solely on providing proof of wrongful termination at six specific agencies, without mandating the return-to-work for provisional staff members employed at 16 additional institutions mentioned in a union-led legal challenge against these job cuts.
He additionally mentioned that the Trump administration attempted to bypass safeguards designed to protect federal employees. incorrectly stating that their dismissal was due to their "work performance."
"It's a sorrowful day when our administration terminates a capable worker and claims it's due to poor performance, knowing all too well that this statement is false," Alsup remarked.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt charged the judge with “trying to improperly take away the authority over hiring and firing from the executive branch” and indicated that an appeal would probably be filed. She didn’t specify whether the administration intends to adhere to the directive.
President possesses the ability to wield the full force of the executive branch — individual district court judges shouldn’t misuse their limited judicial power to block the President's initiatives," Leavitt stated. "Should a federal district court judge desire executive authority, they could always attempt to become president instead.
She stated: "The Trump administration will promptly counteract this ridiculous and unconstitutional directive."
The Maryland ruling mirrors the California judgment.
Subsequently on Thursday, in Maryland, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar was set to make a decision. issued a short-term protective order requesting the reinstatement of federal probationary employees who were let go on or after January 20 under the Trump administration.
The lawsuit was initiated by attorneys general from 19 states. and Washington D.C., all Democrats.
Bredar, who was appointed by ex-President Barack Obama, signed the directive shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday. Additionally, he issued a memo emphasizing that the federal government needs to adhere to regulations when terminating a significant number of staff members.
The ruling maintained the dismissals of probationary workers spanning 18 departments and agencies listed as defendants in the lawsuit. According to the directive, all impacted employees nationwide must be restored to their positions by 1 p.m. on Monday.
The listed departments encompass Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, along with USAID.
The judge additionally halted the "unlawful RIFs" (reductions in force) for a period of 14 days and mentioned that the administration must not implement these reductions until they comply with the regulations mandating sufficient notification.
The sudden federal government layoffs adversely affect the states, as they were unprepared to handle the burden of offering necessary services to the affected workers, the directive further stated. This exclusion applies to the Office of Personnel Management, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Department of Defense.
The union responds in the California lawsuit
Aldrich Alsups ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees along with various government worker unions. These organizations initiated legal action aiming to overturn the dismissals.
Everett Kelley, the national president of AFGE, expressed the union's satisfaction with Judge Alsup's choice to bring back probationary employees who had been wrongfully dismissed from their positions by an administration determined to undermine federal agencies and hinder their efforts to serve the American public.
Kelley stated that his union will continue to fight until every federal employee who was wrongfully and unlawfully dismissed is reinstated into their position.
Alsup further prolonged a provisional restraining order he initially gave to the plaintiffs last month. This injunction prevents the OPM from instructing federal agencies to dismiss probationary staff members. At that juncture, Alsup opted against mandating an action. fired workers get their jobs back.
The Justice Department under President Trump contended that the OPM instruction sent to federal agencies via a January 20 memorandum did not instruct these departments to dismiss provisional employees. Instead, they maintained it merely directed identifying those provisionals deemed non-essential to mission objectives for potential termination.
Following the judge's previous decision in February, The OPM revised its guidance on March 4. To state that the agency is not instructing departments to implement particular performance-driven measures concerning probationary employees, and that departments retain full discretion and accountability for these types of personnel decisions.
However, Judge Alsup disagreed with the Trump administration’s argument that updates to the memo and press releases indicated the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacked authority over the dismissals. Additionally, he criticized the Justice Department lawyer advocating for OPM, Kelsey Helland, for failing to comply with a court order requiring the agency’s acting director, Charles Ezell, to testify in court.
"I have practiced or served in this courtroom for more than five decades, and I am well aware of how we uncover the truth. However, you're not assisting me in this process. Instead, you're providing me with press statements and fake documents," Judge Alsup stated.
Federal workers who were under probation during the early wave of dismissals initiated by Trump typically had been newly recruited or advanced, often in recent months. These individuals do not have the same job security as seasoned public servants due to their limited time with the federal government, which makes it simpler to terminate them based on poor performance evaluations.
The ruling from the judge arrived as federal agencies faced a deadline Thursday To ready extensive layoffs as part of a more profound secondary surge of dismissals that extend past probationary staff to focus on long-term employees. The judge didn’t touch upon this subsequent batch of terminations in his ruling.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
The article initially appeared on USA TODAY: The Trump administration was instructed to bring back tens of thousands of dismissed provisional employees.
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