Judge orders Trump admin to reinstate probationary workers fired at 6 agencies
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in recent mass firings from six different agencies, including the Department of Defense.
The administration is expected to file an appeal against the ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco.
The judge’s order came during a federal court hearing over a lawsuit from labor unions and other groups challenging the mass termination being directed by the Office of Personnel Management.
Those plaintiffs said it violates Administrative Procedure Act requirements and congressional laws that deal with agency hiring and firing practices.
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The judge earlier ruled OPM lacked the power to fire workers, including probationary employees who normally have less than a year of civil service on the job.
The agencies affected included Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.
Alsup appeared incredibly frustrated with the government during the hearing Thursday, saying "this is a sham" at least four times.
He added that by not having anyone from OPM there to testify today, it was preventing them from getting to the truth.
The number of fired workers was in the thousands, according to Reuters.
In late February, Alsup said "OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe," to hire or fire workers except its own, the Associated Press reported.
"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," Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, reportedly said a the time.
"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," Kelley added, according to the AP.
Fox News' Michael Lundin contributed to this report.
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