Judge orders Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired workers

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found the firings did not follow federal law and said that immediate offers of reinstatement needed to be sent out. 

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Which agencies are involved?

The agencies include:

• Veterans Affairs
• Agriculture
• Defense
• Energy
• The Interior
• Treasury

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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.

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Trump's plans to downsize the federal government

In February, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to develop plans to eliminate employee positions and consolidate programs to cut down on government spending. 

What they're saying:

"We’re cutting down the size of government. We have to," Trump said during his first Cabinet meeting of his second term last month. "We’re bloated. We’re sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren’t doing their job."

Agencies were directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.

More plans are due on April 14, when agencies are expected to outline how they will consolidate management, become more efficient and potentially relocate offices to parts of the country that are less expensive than Washington. The memo said agencies have a Sept. 30 deadline for implementation.