Judge: Mass Firings of Probationary Workers Were Likely Unlawful

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive dismantling of the federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including the Department of Defense.

“OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe,” to hire or fire any employees but its own, Alsup said.

The complaint filed by five labor unions and five nonprofit organizations is among multiple lawsuits pushing back on the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce, which Trump has called bloated and sloppy. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and his administration is now aiming at career officials with civil service protection.

Lawyers for the government agree that the office has no authority to hire or fire employees in other agencies.

But they say the Office of Personnel Management asked agencies to review and determine whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment. They also say that probationary employees are not guaranteed employment and that only the highest performing and mission-critical employees should be hired.

Attorneys for the coalition cheered the order, although it does not mean that fired employees will automatically be rehired or that future firings will not occur.

“What it means in practical effects is the agencies of the federal government should hear the court’s warning that that order was unlawful,” said Danielle Leonard, an attorney for the coalition, after the hearing.

Emails for comment to the U.S. Department of Justice and to attorneys on the case were not immediately returned.