US Judges Rule Trump Administration’s Mass Firings Unlawful

Two rulings on Thursday (March 14, 2025) blocked the mass firings of trial employees in several federal services by the Trump administration, allowing thousands of workers to reclaim their jobs temporarily. Both judges ruled that the government failed to follow proper legal procedures for the mass dismissals, which occurred within weeks of President Trump’s return to the White House in an effort to rapidly reduce the size of the federal workforce. The first ruling came from U.S. District Judge William Alsop in California, who determined that probationary employees from the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior, Commerce, Defense, and Veterans Affairs should be immediately reinstated. He described the dismissal process as illegal and pretextual. Hours later, U.S. District Judge James Brandon in Maryland issued a similar ruling in a case filed by 20 states led by Democrats and the District of Columbia. Brandon ordered the reinstatement of probationary employees fired from a group of 18 agencies, including the Department of Commerce, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Judge Brandon noted that the Trump administration did not comply with federal regulations governing mass layoffs or ‘workforce reductions.’ The scale and speed of the dismissals made it clear that experienced workers were being laid off en masse rather than due to performance issues, as the government had claimed. Brandon stated that the recent firing of thousands of probationary federal employees was not conducted according to rules meant to ensure states are ready to take over when mass layoffs occur. Appointed by former President Barack Obama, Brandon ruled his order would remain in effect for 14 days while he reviews requests from state attorneys general for a more permanent injunction. He declined to reinstate probationary employees in three services – the Department of Defense, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives – citing insufficient evidence that those firings were unlawful. The American Federation of Government Employees and other groups brought the lawsuit in California on behalf of tens of thousands of probationary employees who, they said, were dismissed last month under orders from the Office of Personnel Management. Except for those deemed ‘critical’ to service, probationary workers employed for less than a year or less than two years for ‘exceptional service’ received an email notifying them of their termination due to performance-related reasons, according to the lawsuit. More than 200,000 employees, nearly 10% of the federal civilian workforce, were in their roles for a year or less at the time, according to Office of Personnel Management data. Such classification might also include recently promoted employees. The Justice Department stated that the decision to fire the employees was legally made by each agency’s leadership.