A Federal judge in San Francisco issued an order from the bench today demanding the reinstatement of all probationary employees who were fired at six Federal agencies based on directives from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The six agencies that must reinstate employees include the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Interior, Energy, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern California said OPM, and its acting Director Charles Ezell, had “no authority whatsoever” to direct agency heads to fire probationary employees. Specifically, Alsup called for the reinstatement of Federal employees who were terminated on or about Feb. 13 or 14, and he ordered future firings based on OPM’s orders to be blocked.
Alsup expressed concern with OPM directives, which cited performance issues as an explanation for the mass firing of probationary employees.
He cited an example of an employee at the Department of Agriculture who received notice that she was fired based on performance issues. Alsup said the employee had only received successful performance reviews in past evaluations.
“It’s a sad, 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’s a sham in order to avoid statutory requirements,” Alsup added.
While Federal agencies have the authority to undergo reductions in force, Alsup clarified that agencies alone are responsible for making determinations on fired employees, rather than OPM.
Alsup limited the ruling to the six agencies but left open the possibility of extending his order to more agencies or reducing it to fewer agencies based on further presentations of evidence.
The San Francisco judge also blocked future template emails, like the one used to initially fire probationary employees at the six agencies, from being sent out in the future. He additionally prohibited OPM from providing guidance on future firings of employees at the six agencies.
A coalition of unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), initially filed the case against OPM and Ezell on Feb. 19. Leaders of the unions celebrated the news of the judge’s ruling on Thursday.
“We are grateful for all these employees and the critical work they do, and AFGE will keep fighting until all Federal employees who were unjustly and illegally fired are given their jobs back,” AFGE President Everett Kelly said.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also celebrated the news of the judge’s ruling.
“This is a win for our democracy, the rule of law, and for the American people who are better served by having these Federal workers on the job. The Trump-Musk administration must immediately respect the court’s decision and reinstate these dedicated civil servants – including nuclear researchers, park rangers, VA health care workers, and more – so they can get back to work on behalf of the American people,” Rep. Connolly said.
“Oversight Democrats will continue to lead the fight against President Trump and Elon Musk’s corrupt assault on the Federal workforce. We are organizing our broad coalition of stakeholders both in and out of government to investigate, litigate, and terminate the dangerous and unlawful abuses of the Trump-Musk Administration,” he added.
