Federal Judge Orders Thousands of Probationary Employees Fired By Trump Be Reinstated

A federal judge has ordered that the thousands of federal employees fired under the Trump administration be temporarily reinstated. Federal departments have to reinstate affected employees by March 17 at 1 p.m. ET.

A federal judge has ordered that the thousands of federal employees fired under the Trump administration be temporarily reinstated.

According to NBC News, U.S. District Judge James Bredar issued a temporary restraining order Thursday night. The order is against dozens of agencies, departments, and federal department heads who ultimately terminated workers under the Trump administration’s orders.

“In this case, the government conducted massive layoffs, but it gave no advance notice,” Bredar wrote in his ruling. “It claims it wasn’t required to because, it says, it dismissed each one of these thousands of probationary employees for ‘performance’ or other individualized reasons.”

Judge Bredar adds, “On the record before the Court, this isn’t true. There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively.”

Bredar’s Ruling Applies To Fired Employees in Dozens of Departments

Bredar’s orders apply to 12 departments that have fired federal probationary employees. The 12 departments include Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.

His ruling also applies to probationary workers terminated at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Probationary workers from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the General Service Administration, and the Small Business Administration are also included.

NBC News reported that Judge Bredar also acknowledged in his ruling the impact his decision would have after more than 200,000 federal probationary employees had been let go since President Donald Trump took office in January.

“The Court is not blind to the practical reality that the relief being ordered today will have far-reaching impacts on the federal workforce and will require the Government to expend considerable resources in an effort to undo the [reductions in force] that have been put into place,” Bredar wrote.

Federal departments have to reinstate affected employees by March 17 at 1 p.m. ET. Appeals from departments are likely.