 "US judge orders Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired workers")
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers fired in mass terminations last month, saying that the personnel office responsible lacked authority.
According to an Associated Press report, US District Judge William Alsup instructed the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defence, Energy, Interior, and Treasury to promptly reinstate employees let go around February 13 and 14, following guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell.
Alsup directed the agencies to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the departments complied with his order as to each person, added the report.
The temporary restraining order was issued in a lawsuit by a coalition of labor unions as the Republican administration seeks to downsize the federal workforce.
Judge Alsup voiced frustration over the government’s attempt to bypass laws regulating workforce reductions by terminating unprotected probationary workers. He criticised the firings of employees for poor performance, noting many had received positive evaluations just months prior.
“It is sad, a sad day, when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” AP quoted him as saying. “That should not have been done in our country,” he added.
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.
But Alsup has found that difficult to believe. He planned to hold an evidentiary hearing Thursday, but Ezell, the OPM acting director, did not appear to testify in court or even sit for a deposition. The judge encouraged the government to appeal.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.
About 15,000 are employed in California, providing services ranging from fire prevention to veterans’ care, according to the lawsuit filed by the coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations.
The plaintiffs said in their complaint that numerous agencies informed workers that the personnel office had ordered the terminations, with an order to use a template email informing workers their firing was for performance reasons.
With inputs from agencies
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