US Judge blocks Trump administration’s plan to fire Federal employees

US Judge finds mass firings of federal probationary workers to be unlawful

A US federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s directive instructing federal agencies to conduct mass firings of recently hired employees.

Court ruling on mass firings

San Francisco District Judge William Alsup ruled that the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacked the authority to order federal agencies to terminate any workers, including probationary employees with less than one year of service.

This ruling follows the announcement by former President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), regarding planned layoffs aimed at reducing administrative costs.

Judicial order against employee terminations

Judge Alsup directed the OPM to revoke a January 20 memo and a February 14 email, both of which instructed agencies to identify and dismiss non-mission-critical probationary employees.

In his ruling, Judge Alsup warned that these mass layoffs would have severe consequences, including disruptions to:

• National parks
• Scientific research programs
• Veterans’ services

He emphasized, “Probationary employees are the lifeblood of our government. They come in at a low level and work their way up. That’s how we renew ourselves.”

Defense department firings still proceeding

Despite the court’s intervention, the Department of Defense (DoD) is set to terminate 5,400 probationary employees on Friday, as its actions are not covered under the lawsuit filed by employee unions.

However, the judge ordered the government to inform the DoD that its memo and email had been deemed invalid.

Union response and government justification

Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), criticized the administration’s actions, stating:
“These are rank-and-file workers who joined the federal government to make a difference in their communities, only to be suddenly terminated due to this administration’s disdain for federal employees and desire to privatize their work.”

The US Justice Department, representing the Trump administration, defended the policy in court, arguing that the memo and email merely requested agencies to review probationary employees, not explicitly order terminations.

Meanwhile, a new White House memo issued Wednesday directed agencies to submit plans by March 13 for a “significant reduction” in staffing across the federal workforce.

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