A judge in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that the mass firing of probationary employees by the Trump administration is likely illegal. This ruling gives some temporary relief to unions and organizations that are suing to stop the large-scale layoffs of federal workers.
The case specifically focuses on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), led by Charles Ezell, and its role in directing federal agencies to reduce their staff, starting with probationary employees. These employees are often new workers with less than a year of service and have fewer job protections.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the OPM to notify certain federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, that they do not have the authority to fire probationary employees. This ruling puts a temporary stop to the mass layoffs of these workers.
Labor unions and nonprofit groups filed the lawsuit after thousands of probationary employees lost their jobs, including workers at the IRS. The Trump administration had planned to fire more workers, claiming that the government workforce was too large.
OPM’s acting director, Ezell, argued in court that the agency did not directly order the firifirings provided guidance to agencies to manage staffing levels and to remind them that probationary employees were not yet permanent hires. However, the plaintiffs argue that OPM had no right to direct these firings and that many of the workers were unfairly labeled as underperforming.
There are an estimated thousands of ationary workers in federal agencies. About 15,000 of them work in California. The unions celebrated the ruling but acknowledged that the legal fight is far from over.
This decision is an early win for the plaintiffs, but the battle continues as they push for a more permanent halt to the layoffs. A hearing is set for mid-March to discuss the case further.
