Two United States federal judges have ruled that the Donald Trump administration must temporarily reinstate thousands of probationary federal employees who were recently dismissed from various government agencies, according to an AP report.
The rulings, delivered on Thursday, determined that the terminations violated legal procedures.
In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Alsup found that Charles Ezell, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, lacked the authority to approve the widespread dismissals.
Meanwhile, in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar ruled that the administration had not complied with laws requiring a 60-day notice before implementing large-scale layoffs.
Bredar’s order paused the firings and instructed that the affected employees be reinstated. However, the Trump administration quickly appealed Alsup’s decision.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the rulings, calling them an unconstitutional encroachment on presidential authority over federal employment.
“The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” she stated.
The legal battle stems from lawsuits filed by labor unions and nonprofit organizations, which argued that the dismissals disrupted essential government functions, particularly in areas like veterans’ services and public land management.
The groups claim the firings were part of a broader strategy to reduce the federal workforce without proper oversight.
Alsup’s ruling specifically targeted six agencies, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and Treasury, requiring them to reinstate employees who were let go around mid-February. He expressed frustration with the administration’s approach, criticizing its attempt to circumvent regulations that govern workforce reductions.
Probationary employees, who are typically newer to their roles, were heavily impacted by the terminations. These workers, lacking the full civil service protections, are more vulnerable to dismissal.
“These mass-firings of federal workers were not just an attack on government agencies and their ability to function, they were also a direct assault on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, one of the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit claims that at least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since Trump took office, though official government figures have not confirmed this number.
Plaintiffs argue that these layoffs have also affected state governments, which are now dealing with an influx of unemployed workers.
The Trump administration, however, insists that the dismissals were justified and based on individual performance reviews, not a coordinated workforce reduction that would require additional procedural steps.
Alsup questioned this justification, noting that some of the dismissed employees had recently received positive evaluations.
“It is sad, 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,” he said. “That should not have been done in our country.”
Directing his frustration at Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Helland, Alsup added, “I know how we get at the truth, and you’re not helping me get at the truth.”
Reactions to the rulings have been divided. Labour unions welcomed the decisions as a win for federal workers and legal accountability, while the Trump administration remains firm in its stance, viewing the court orders as an overreach into executive power.
The temporary reinstatement could affect roughly 200,000 probationary employees across federal agencies, with approximately 15,000 workers in California alone benefiting from the decision.
These employees, who hold positions in fields such as fire prevention and veterans’ care, are now protected from further dismissals pending future legal proceedings.
