Judge Orders Fired Probationary Federal Workers To Be Reinstated

A federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees who were recently fired from several government agencies. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, based in San Francisco, ruled that the terminations were unlawful and described them as a "sham" strategy by the government's central human resources office. The order affects employees from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, and Treasury.

Judge Alsup criticized the Trump administration's approach, calling it a "gimmick" designed to bypass legal requirements for reducing the federal workforce. He stated, "It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie." The judge also accused the Justice Department of hiding the facts about who directed the mass firings and expressed skepticism about the truthfulness of their statements.

The ruling mandates that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offer reinstatement to the affected employees within a week. Alsup's decision follows a lawsuit filed by unions and civic groups on behalf of the fired workers. The judge also noted that the OPM's acting director and senior adviser did not attend the hearing, which he found concerning.

This ruling is one of the most significant rejections of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce and is likely to be appealed.