Judge blocks Trump administration from firing dozens of probationary workers

A US federal judge has ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind its directive to fire government probationary employees at several federal agencies.

The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco on February 27, ordered the Office of Personnel Management to withdraw a January 20 memo and a February 24 email asking government agencies such as the Department of Defense and the National Park Service to determine which employees should be fired.

According to Axios, Judge Alsup said the firings may have been illegal. He explained that although Congress has given agencies the power to hire and fire, the Office of Personnel Management can only fire its own employees, not employees of other agencies.

DOGE employees quit in protest as billionaire Musk aggressively vets federal employees

The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by unions and advocacy groups representing federal employees, who allege the Office of Personnel Management broke the law by ordering other agencies to terminate all probationary employees.

The White House and the Office of Personnel Management have not commented on the ruling.

An employee works near the US Capitol building in October 2024.

According to CNN, there are an estimated 200,000 probationary employees, who usually work for less than a year, at federal agencies. About 15,000 are employed in California, providing services such as fire protection and veterinary services.

Billionaire Elon Musk, advisor to the president and head of the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been pushing a campaign to streamline the federal workforce. Musk met with senators on February 27 to hear from his constituents about the cuts. According to CNN, some Republican senators encouraged DOGE to be more transparent about the actions it is taking.

On February 27, a federal judge also ordered DOGE to send a representative to testify about the agency's leadership structure, as well as DOGE's access to sensitive government data systems while reviewing fraud and budget waste.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tham-phan-chan-chinh-quyen-trump-sa-thai-hang-loat-lao-dong-thu-viec-185250228080651024.htm