Court Rules Trump Administration Unlawfully Directed Mass Terminations

A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully ordered the mass firing of thousands of federal employees but declined to reinstate them, citing recent US Supreme Court rulings.

US District Judge William Alsup said the Office of Personnel Management acted illegally in February when it directed agencies to dismiss probationary employees en masse, a move that affected about 25,000 workers. While Alsup said he would normally undo such firings, he noted the Supreme Court had signaled it would block judicial orders reinstating workers.

Instead, Alsup ordered 19 federal agencies — including the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior and Treasury — to correct personnel records by November 14 and barred them from following similar OPM directives.

Unions and Washington State had sued over the firings, which involved probationary employees, most with less than a year of service. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the ruling confirmed “thousands of probationary workers were wrongfully fired” and exposed the government’s actions as a “sham.”

The White House did not comment.