Federal Judge Thwarts Trump’s Plan to Fire Thousands of ‘Probationary’ Government Workers

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot fire probationary federal employees in 19 states, including Washington, D.C., limiting a previous nationwide ruling.

U.S. district judge James Bredar said in Baltimore that federal agencies must follow certain procedures if they want to dismiss large numbers of probationary employees.

He said that the administration did not do this when it terminated 24,500 workers in February without informing states and local government in advance. Bredar, however, said that he could only require reinstatement for employees who live or work in one of the mostly Democrat states, Washington, D.C., and the other plaintiffs.

Some federal employees have been in their roles for more than a decade, but most are probationary employees.

Bredar had already ruled on 13 March that the firings had likely been illegal. He ordered 18 agencies, pending further litigation, to reinstate employees who had been terminated. The decision of Tuesday will remain in effect until the conclusion of the lawsuit. This could take several months.

The plaintiffs are some of the largest U.S. States, such as California, New York, and Illinois.

Trump’s administration appealed Bredar’s decision. They claim that the firings were legal and that the judge did not have the authority to order workers to be reinstated. In March, a U.S. court of appeals panel refused to pause its ruling. However, a Trump-appointed federal judge criticized the scope of the order.