Second judge orders Trump admin to rehire probationary workers let go in mass firings

A second judge late Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.  

In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, an Obama appointee, found that the administration ignored laws set out for large-scale layoffs. Bredar ordered the firings halted for at least two weeks and the workforce returned to the status quo before the layoffs began.

He sided with nearly two dozen states that filed a lawsuit alleging the mass firings are illegal and already having an impact on state governments as they try to help those who are suddenly jobless.

The ruling followed a similar one by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who found Thursday morning that terminations across six agencies were directed by the Office of Personnel Management and acting director, Charles Ezell, who lacked the authority to do so.

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Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside of the Department of Health and Human Services, Feb. 14, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Alsup’s order tells the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to immediately offer job reinstatement to employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14. He also directed the departments to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the agencies complied with his order as to each person.

The temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and organizations as the Republican administration moves to reduce the federal workforce.

A federal employee, who asked not to use their name for fears over losing their job, protests with a sign saying “Federal Employees Don’t Work for Kings” during the “No Kings Day” protest on Presidents Day in Washington, in support of federal workers and against recent actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Feb. 17, 2025, by the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Trump administration has already appealed Alsup’s ruling, arguing that the states have no right to try and influence the federal government’s relationship with its own workers. Justice Department attorneys argued the firings were for performance issues, not large-scale layoffs subject to specific regulations.

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Probationary workers have been targeted for layoffs across the federal government because they’re usually new to the job and lack full civil service protection. Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the mass firings.

Lawyers for the government maintain the mass firings were lawful because individual agencies reviewed and determined whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Alsup, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, has found that difficult to believe. He planned to hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday, but Ezell did not appear to testify in court or even sit for a deposition, and the government retracted his written testimony.

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There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry-level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.