Judge orders Trump to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings
Trump ordered to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings
A San Francisco federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.
SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.
Judge says Trump violated federal law
What we know:
U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Thursday found the firings didn’t follow federal law and required immediate offers of reinstatement be sent.
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Which agencies are involved?
The agencies include:
- Veterans Affairs
- Agriculture
- Defense
- Energy
- The Interior
- Treasury
Lawsuit filed
Dig deeper:
The order from the San Francisco-based judge came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and organizations.
Those plaintiffs said the mass firings violate Administrative Procedure Act requirements and congressional laws that deal with agency hiring and firing practices.
The judge earlier ruled the Office of Personnel Management lacked the power to fire workers, including probationary employees who normally have less than a year of civil service on the job.
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.
What they're saying:
"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," Alsup, the judge who issued the order, said. "That should not have been done in our country."
The other side:
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.
The Source: Information for this report comes from the Associated Press and Fox News.