A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration must reinstate thousands of probationary employees, declaring their dismissal illegal. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, a Clinton appointee in California, stated that the Office of Personnel Management lacked the authority to direct other agencies to terminate the employees. “It is sad, a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” the judge said in ruling from the bench.
Probationary employees typically have less than a year—or in some roles, less than two years—of service. Trump officials argued that these workers were of limited value to the federal workforce and the general public due to their limited experience and lack of full civil service protections. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memo instructing departments to review their lists of probationary employees and determine which ones to retain, after which agencies proceeded with waves of firings.
The Trump administration maintained that the terminations were agency decisions, not directives from OPM, and that the notices cited employee performance. However, Alsup dismissed this explanation as a “gimmick” to circumvent federal law, noting that the cuts resembled a reduction in force, which affords certain protections to workers. He sharply criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the case, arguing that it barred OPM Director Charles Ezell from testifying while simultaneously withdrawing his declaration from evidence to keep him off the stand.
“I tend to doubt that you’re telling me the truth,” the judge told the government, labeling the situation a “sham.” His order applies to employees in six departments—Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Energy, Defense, and Treasury. According to Government Executive, about 24,000 workers are expected to have their jobs restored, with the possibility of additional agencies being included later. Judge Alsup also directed the Trump administration to submit compliance reports and mandated that the plaintiffs be allowed to depose Noah Peters, an OPM official, within the next two weeks.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which led the legal challenge, hailed the ruling as a blow to a president “hellbent on crippling federal agencies.” “We are grateful for these employees and the critical work they do, and AFGE will keep fighting until all federal employees who were unjustly and illegally fired are given their jobs back,” said Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president. It’s likely the Trump administration will appeal.
