US judge halts Trump administration’s mass firing of federal workers

“Congress has given the authority to hire and fire to the agencies themselves,” Judge Alsup said from the bench. “The Office of Personnel Management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency.”

The ruling marks one of the most significant legal challenges to President Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce, a key element of his administration’s agenda. Union groups, led by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents roughly 800,000 federal workers nationwide, sued the government, accusing the administration of orchestrating one of the largest instances of employment fraud in US history.

At the heart of the dispute is the Trump administration’s use of the OPM to order the termination of probationary employees, a workforce segment that includes approximately 200,000 workers — about 10 per cent of the civilian federal workforce. Tens of thousands of these employees have already been dismissed, often receiving a standardized email falsely citing poor performance as the reason, according to the unions.

“OPM, the federal agency charged with implementing this nation’s employment laws, in one fell swoop has perpetrated one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country,” union attorneys wrote in court filings. They noted that many of the terminated employees had received excellent performance reviews and were dismissed without input from their supervisors.

The cuts have affected critical personnel, including employees responsible for wildfire prevention in California, Federal Aviation Administration workers, staff providing services to veterans, and researchers at the National Science Foundation.

In response to the lawsuit, the Justice Department, along with acting OPM Director Charles Ezell, argued that the unions lacked standing to challenge the terminations in court, suggesting they instead take their claims to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) or the Merit Systems Protection Board. This week, the Merit Systems Protection Board issued a ruling that halted the firings of six probationary employees, a decision that could influence the broader case involving thousands of workers.

The Trump administration’s legal team also maintained that the president has broad constitutional authority to manage the Executive Branch, including the power to hire and fire personnel. However, Alsup expressed scepticism about the administration’s justification for the mass dismissals.

“How could so much of the workforce be amputated, suddenly, overnight?” Alsup asked. “It’s so irregular and so widespread and so aberrant in the history of our country.”

The Justice Department further claimed that OPM had not orchestrated a mass termination program but had instead initiated a “focused review” process. However, internal records from various agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Agriculture, as well as the IRS and Veterans Affairs, revealed that OPM had directed these agencies to fire probationary workers.

The unions also argued that OPM gave agencies little room to argue for retaining employees. Agencies were reportedly restricted to providing just 200 characters to explain why any individual worker should remain employed.

A separate federal judge in Washington DC, last week denied a similar request from unions for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the case should be brought before the FLRA, a body that has been in flux since President Trump removed its chairwoman before her term ended in July.

The unions’ legal victory in San Francisco sets the stage for further challenges to the administration’s efforts to overhaul the federal workforce. For now, the mass terminations have been halted, as the case moves forward in court.

(With inputs from Agencies)