US judge orders federal agencies to rehire probationary workers and cease terminations News
Mattpopovich, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
US judge orders federal agencies to rehire probationary workers and cease terminations

US federal agencies must rehire tens of thousands of fired probationary employees after a federal judge ruled Thursday their firings were carried out unlawfully.

US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction, which broadened the previous temporary restraining order. Apart from reinstating the fired workers, the order also requires government agencies to cease the terminations and blocks the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from issuing any further guidelines on terminations. In granting the injunction, Alsup held that the OPM had no authority to terminate federal probationary employees.

In response to the ruling, Violet Wulf-Saena, founder and executive director of Climate Resilient Communities, said:

The mass firing of public service employees is a direct assault on the environmental justice movement and will harm people living in heavily polluted communities. Today’s decision represents a key win for our movement because our lifesaving work cannot proceed without the vital infrastructure and support of our federal employees.

The injunctive relief is in line with what the plaintiffs requested in their lawsuit against the OPM, filed on February 19. The plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, AFGE Local 1216, and United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.

Per the New York Times, six federal agencies were singled out – the Treasury and the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Interior Departments. Alsup noted during his bench ruling that the decision may later apply to other agencies.

The lawsuit concerns the legality of the terminations. Apart from challenging the scope of OPM’s authority in terminating federal employees, the lawsuit also argued that the OPM violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to follow the statutory rule-making process.

In an Executive Order issued Feb. 11, the Trump Administration announced federal agency heads would begin preparations for “large-scale reductions in force.” The complaint alleges probationary employees across several federal agencies received “boilerplate” letters drafted by OPM, stating the reason for their terminations was based on performance issues.

The ruling is a blow to President Donald Trump’s administration, which carried out the terminations as part of its initiatives to create a more efficient government and to cut federal spending.

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