Thousands of fired federal workers must be offered reinstatement, a judge rules
Thousands of federal employees fired by the Trump administration must be offered job reinstatement within the next week, a U.S. district judge in San Francisco has ruled, because he said they were terminated unlawfully.
“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 is a lie,” the judge, William Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said before issuing his ruling from the bench.
The decision marks a significant stand against President Trump’s sweeping efforts to remake the federal government. An appeal is likely.
The administration’s job cuts targeted federal workers with probationary status, which usually means newer workers, and makes them easier to let go. Employees recently promoted into a new position can also be considered probationary.
Many probationary employees were fired for “performance reasons,” according to their termination notices, a reason the court rejected in its ruling on Thursday.
“It was a sham in order to try to avoid statutory requirements,” Alsup said.
The judge also ordered the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prove within seven days that it had offered reinstatement to all probationary employees at at least six government agencies: the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.
The decision comes as a result of a lawsuit brought by a group of unions and civic groups on behalf of workers fired from a host of agencies and sub-agencies.
In a charged, sometimes confrontational court hearing on Thursday, Judge Alsup challenged the government’s argument that OPM had not directly ordered the termination of probationary employees but had left that decision to individual federal agencies and served merely as a coordinating body.
“The court rejects the government’s attempt to use these press releases and to read between the lines to say the agency heads made their own decision with no direction from OPM,” Alsup said.
The judge also bridled that OPM’s acting director, Charles Ezell, and his senior adviser, Noah Peters, did not attend the hearing.
“You will not bring the people in here to be cross-examined. You’re afraid to do so because you know cross-examination would reveal the truth,” Alsup said, addressing OPM’s legal team. “I tend to doubt that you’re telling me the truth.”
Earlier this month, the same judge issued a temporary restraining order in the same case, saying the firings were illegal but noted many federal agencies had yet to rehire probationary workers. “Maybe that’s why we need an injunction that tells them to rehire them,” he said.
NPR’s Andrea Hsu contributed to this report.
A genetic tweak could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria
A new study reports on a novel way to short-circuit the parasite that spreads the disease so people wouldn't get infected with a mosquito's bite.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor
This editor will build on our record of telling impactful stories for broadcast and podcasts that meet the highest editorial and audio-production standards.
Trump aims to get rid of AI regulations and finance exports to win AI race
President Trump says he wants to make sure the United States wins the artificial intelligence race. The White House says fewer regulations will help.
Meet the team behind the JCC’s witty sign
The sign hosts puns, Judaic references, and pop culture riffs. While the sign is well-known and appreciated among the community, its authors have remained anonymous, until now.
Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in Gaza, mostly near food sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said.
Greetings from Moscow, Russia, where Lenin’s tomb attracts a new surge of visitors
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.