A significant ruling by a federal judge mandates the reinstatement of fired federal workers at 18 major agencies, overturning the Trump administration’s terminations of probationary employees.
The Scope of the Ruling
U.S. District Judge James Bredar’s order encompasses a wide range of agencies, including Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury, among others.
This decision goes beyond a previous ruling from another federal judge earlier in the day, which specifically directed six Cabinet departments to rehire probationary employees affected by President Trump’s federal workforce reduction plan.
Legal Violations
Both judges found that the mass terminations conducted by the administration violated federal laws and regulations. Judge Bredar specifically criticized the administration for implementing ‘reductions in force’ without proper notice to state governments, further rebuking the false attribution of terminations to ‘performance’ issues.
In response to a lawsuit filed by Democratic state attorneys general, the court ruled that the administration failed to adhere to the legal requirement of notifying states 60 days prior to mass firings. However, the order does not extend to the Department of Defense, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives due to insufficient evidence provided by the states.
