Trump Administration ordered the reinstatement of thousands of fired workers.
Two US judges have ordered several federal government agencies to restore the jobs of probationary employees who were fired in large numbers by the Trump administration last month. California District Judge William Alsup described the dismissal of these workers as a “sham” strategy to avoid following the correct procedures for cutting the federal workforce.
His order, which was followed by another from Maryland, covers thousands of probationary employees who were let go from various departments, including veterans affairs, energy, defense, and treasury. The Department of Justice claims that the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) guidance, not a directive, was the basis for the terminations.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce have brought OPM, a once-obscure agency that oversees the federal government’s civil service, into the public eye.
Judge Alsup refuted the DOJ attorney’s bench arguments during Thursday’s San Francisco, California hearing by presenting evidence, such as termination letters, indicating that the firings were executed per OPM’s directive.
Judge Alsup stated, “That should not have been done in our country.” “It was a sham to get around the law.”
The judge ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate thousands of fired employees.
According to Danielle Leonard, an attorney for a coalition of government employee unions, probationary employees were singled out because they had no appeal rights.
Judge Alsup also bemoaned during the hearing the dismissal of a government employee in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who received excellent performance reviews but was later given a pink slip, citing performance as the reason for their termination.
Judge Alsup remarked, “I just want to say it is a sad day when our government would fire a good employee and say it’s for performance when they know good and well that’s a lie.”
Following Judge Alsup’s order, District Judge James Bredar of Baltimore, Maryland, issued a similar decision, concurring that Trump’s team had violated rules and raising questions about whether the employees had been fired individually for subpar work.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the first decision by accusing Judge Alsup of “attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the executive branch” on his own.
“Single district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the president’s agenda,” she said, adding that the president held ultimate authority.
She said, “The Trump administration will immediately fight against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”
Although President Trump assigned him the responsibility of reducing the federal workforce through the ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, Elon Musk’s name was not mentioned during the California hearing.
Luz Fuller, president of the American Federation of Government Employees’ local Sacramento branch, representing over 4,500 workers in Northern California, said, “He was on everybody’s mind.”
Trump called Musk the agency’s leader in his Congressional address last week, but the White House has denied this.
