On February 27, a federal judge in San Francisco granted temporary relief to plaintiffs who sued to stop the Trump administration’s workforce downsizing, ruling that the mass firings were likely unlawful.
“[Office of Personnel Management] does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe,” to fire federal employees other than its own, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said, per the Associated Press.
Judge Alsup also reportedly ordered the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to inform other federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, that OPM has no authority to order the firings of probationary employees.
Lawyers for the government reportedly concurred that OPM does not have the authority to fire federal probationary employees. However, they were quoted as saying that probationary employees are not guaranteed employment and that the government should only hire the highest-performing and mission-critical employees.
“I think plaintiffs are conflating a request by OPM with an order by OPM,” said Kelsey Helland, an assistant U.S. attorney, per AP.
The lawsuit was brought when a coalition of labor unions sued OPM.
“This ruling by Judge Alsup is an important initial victory for patriotic Americans across this country who were illegally fired from their jobs by an agency that had no authority to do so,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “These are rank-and-file workers who joined the federal government to make a difference in their communities, only to be suddenly terminated due to this administration’s disdain for federal employees and desire to privatize their work.”
“OPM’s direction to agencies to engage in the indiscriminate firing of federal probationary employees is illegal, plain and simple, and our union will keep fighting until we put a stop to these demoralizing and damaging attacks on our civil service once and for all,” Kelley added.
Some labor leaders contend this was a populist victory.
“This decision by Judge Alsup is a major win for Main Street. The mass firings of Small Business Administration employees create uncertainty for time-strapped entrepreneurs. Chaos is the enemy, and this ruling brings a little bit more peace of mind to small business owners that keep our economy going,” said Richard Trent, executive director for the Main Street Alliance.
The exact number of federal probationary employees terminated since President Trump again took office is unclear. However, Forbes reported that many government agencies are losing thousands of employees.
“We expect approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be released beginning next week,” per a February 21 DoD press release.
United States Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) wrote a letter to Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loefler on February 20 condemning the firings of “hundreds of SBA employees serving their probationary work period.”
Judge Alsup has scheduled another hearing on the matter in two weeks.