Federal Judges Block Trump’s Mass Layoffs, Order Workers Reinstatement

In a major legal setback for the Trump administration, two federal judges have ordered the temporary reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal workers who were recently dismissed from multiple agencies.

The rulings, issued on Thursday, determined that the terminations violated established legal procedures.

In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that Charles Ezell, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, lacked the authority to approve the mass layoffs. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar found that the administration failed to comply with the legal requirement of providing a 60-day notice for large-scale dismissals.

As a result, Bredar’s ruling halted the firings and ordered the affected workers to be reinstated.

The Trump administration is appealing Alsup’s ruling, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the court orders unconstitutional and an overreach into executive powers.

“The Trump administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” Leavitt stated.

The legal battle follows lawsuits filed by labor unions and nonprofit organizations, which argue that the mass terminations were illegal and disrupted essential government services, particularly in veterans’ care and public land management. These groups claim that the layoffs were part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce without proper oversight.

Alsup’s ruling specifically targeted six federal agencies: Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and Treasury. These agencies were ordered to offer reinstatement to employees dismissed around mid-February.

The judge criticized the administration for attempting to bypass regulations on workforce reductions by targeting probationary employees—newer workers who lack full civil service protections.

Probationary employees are particularly vulnerable, as they typically cannot appeal their terminations. Since Trump took office, at least 24,000 of these workers have reportedly been let go, according to the lawsuit. However, the government has not confirmed this figure.

“These mass firings were not just an attack on government agencies and their ability to function—they were a direct assault on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The Trump administration has defended the terminations, arguing that they were based on individual performance reviews rather than constituting mass layoffs requiring specific legal procedures. However, Alsup questioned this justification, noting that some employees had received positive performance evaluations just months before their dismissals.

“It is a sad day when our government fires good employees and falsely claims it was due to performance,” Alsup said. “That should not happen in this country.”

As legal proceedings continue, approximately 200,000 probationary federal employees—including about 15,000 in California—are temporarily protected from dismissal. These workers, spanning roles from fire prevention to veterans’ care, now await further court decisions on their employment status.