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Thousands of federal public service workers can return to their jobs because the Trump administration illegally fired them.
On Thursday March 13, 2025 Judge William H. Alsup, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ordered the Trump administration to rehire thousands of probationary employees who were let go from the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury.
Alsup found that the mass termination of probationary employees was illegal because the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had no authority to order it.
The judge ordered that all workers fired should be immediately reinstated. The case was filed by several unions including: The United Nurses Associations of California/UNAC-UHCP, AFSCME; The American Federation of Government Employees ; AFGE Local 1216; and several nonprofit organizations.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders said “Public service workers are the backbone of our communities in every way. Today, we are proud to celebrate the court’s decision which orders that fired federal employees must be reinstated and reinforces they cannot be fired without reason,” Saunders continued. “This is a big win for all workers, especially AFSCME members of the United Nurses Associations of California and District Council 20, who will be able to continue their essential work at the Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs Department, and other agencies.”
“It is 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 said. “That should not have been done in our country. It was a sham in order to try to avoid statutory requirements.”
The judge granted a preliminary injunction against OPM and Charles Ezell, OPM’s acting director. He followed by broadening that order. Alsup also barred OPM from giving any guidance to federal agencies on which employees should be terminated. And the agencies must provide a compliance report to the court.
The unions filed the original case February 19, 2025 after OPM ordered federal agencies to fire employees who are within one or two years of employment. Unions called the move “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”
