Federal Judge Orders Reinstatement of Thousands of Fired Workers in Major Blow to Trump Administration

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal workers who were fired in a series of mass layoffs across multiple agencies. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, asserts that the terminations, which occurred around February 13 and 14, were carried out under the direction of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its acting director, Charles Ezell, who lacked the legal authority to execute the dismissals.

Judge Alsup’s ruling requires several government departments, including Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and the Treasury, to offer the terminated employees their jobs back immediately. He also mandated that the agencies report back within a week, detailing the names of probationary employees and providing an explanation of how they adhered to the court’s directive in each case.

The terminations had been challenged in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations, which claimed that the mass firings were part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce. These layoffs were said to directly threaten vital public services, including those related to the nation’s parks, veterans’ care, and wildlife protection, while undermining the rule of law.

In his decision, Judge Alsup expressed frustration with the government’s actions, particularly the firing of probationary workers who are not afforded the same legal protections as permanent employees. He emphasized that many of these workers had recently received favorable performance evaluations, making the stated reasons for their dismissal—poor performance—questionable at best. Alsup sharply criticized the government for attempting to sidestep laws and regulations designed to govern workforce reductions.

“It’s a sad day when our government would fire employees who have been doing good work and falsely claim it was for performance reasons,” Alsup said. “That should not have been done in our country.”

The Trump administration quickly filed an appeal of the injunction with the Ninth Circuit Court, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt framing the decision as an overreach on judicial power. “The Trump administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” she stated in a release.

The case is one of several legal challenges against the mass firings. Other judges, including one in Maryland, have expressed similar skepticism regarding the legality of the dismissals. However, a judge in Washington, D.C. ruled last month that the fired employees must follow the prescribed legal processes for contested terminations.

There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across various federal agencies, with about 15,000 in California alone. Many of these employees are involved in essential services such as fire prevention, veterans’ care, and small business support. The lawsuit claims that several agencies had informed employees that their terminations were ordered by the personnel office, using a template that falsely cited poor performance as the reason for dismissal.

As the legal battle continues, the reinstatement order offers a significant setback to the Trump administration’s push to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Judge Alsup’s ruling underscores the need for greater transparency and adherence to established laws when making workforce decisions that affect thousands of public servants.