Federal Judge Orders Reinstatement of Thousands of Trump Administration Employees Amid Mass Firings Controversy
A federal judge in San Francisco has mandated that the Trump administration reinstate thousands of employees who were laid off in mass firings across various federal agencies. U.S. District Judge William Alsup determined that the terminations, which were orchestrated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its acting director, Charles Ezell, were unauthorized.
In response, the administration swiftly filed an appeal against the injunction with the Ninth Circuit Court. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the ruling as a violation of the executive branch’s authority to manage its workforce. “The Trump Administration will immediately challenge this absurd and unconstitutional order,” she stated.
Judge Alsup’s ruling requires the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and Treasury to promptly offer reinstatement to employees who were terminated around February 13 and 14. He also instructed these departments to submit a report within a week that includes a list of probationary employees and an account of how they complied with his order regarding each individual.
This temporary restraining order arose from a lawsuit initiated by a coalition of labor unions and organizations amid efforts by the Republican administration to shrink the federal workforce. Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, one of the plaintiffs, voiced that these mass firings were not only detrimental to the functioning of government agencies but also represented an attack on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law.
Alsup expressed his disbelief over what he perceived as the government’s attempt to circumvent laws governing workforce reductions by dismissing probationary employees, who do not possess the same protections and cannot appeal their firings. He was particularly disturbed by reports that employees were informed their dismissals were due to poor performance, despite having received positive evaluations just months prior. “It is disheartening when our government fires good employees under false pretenses,” he remarked. “This should not happen in our country.”
The government’s attorneys argue that the mass layoffs were legal because individual agencies assessed whether probationary employees were suitable for continued employment. However, Judge Alsup, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, expressed skepticism about these claims. During a scheduled evidentiary hearing, Ezell did not appear to testify or participate in a deposition, and the government withdrew his written statements.
“I know how we get at the truth, and you’re not assisting me in finding it,” Alsup told Kelsey Helland, an assistant U.S. attorney. He encouraged the government to appeal the decision.
This case is just one of several lawsuits contesting the mass firings. Another judge in Maryland demonstrated skepticism towards the Trump administration in a recent hearing stemming from a lawsuit involving nearly two dozen states. Conversely, a judge in Washington, D.C., ruled against unions last month, stating that the terminated employees must follow a specific process outlined in the employment law.
There are approximately 200,000 probationary employees in federal agencies, comprising both entry-level personnel and those recently promoted. In California alone, around 15,000 individuals are engaged in roles related to services like fire prevention and veterans’ care, as noted in the lawsuit filed by the labor unions and nonprofit organizations representing parks, veterans, and small businesses. The plaintiffs claimed that various agencies had communicated to employees that the personnel office demanded the terminations and instructed them to use a standard email format when notifying workers of their dismissals for performance reasons.
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