Unions sue over federal worker firings, alleging Trump administration misused probationary periods

[February 21, 2025]  By BRIAN WITTE

Unions for federal workers have filed a lawsuit to block the mass firings of probationary federal employees by President Donald Trump's administration, alleging that officials are exploiting and misusing the probationary period to eliminate staff across government agencies.

The unions allege in the complaint filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in California that the firings "represent one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”

The lawsuit says the administration’s Office of Personnel Management acted unlawfully by directing federal agencies to use a standardized termination notice falsely claiming performance issues. The unions seek an injunction to stop more firings and to rescind those that have already happened.

“This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a chaotic, ill-informed, and politically-driven firing spree," American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said in a news release. “The result has been the indiscriminate firing of thousands of patriotic public servants across the country who help veterans in crisis, ensure the safety of our nuclear weapons, keep power flowing to American homes, combat the bird flu, and provide other essential services.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Meanwhile, a federal judge on Thursday refused to temporarily block the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers while a separate lawsuit brought by five unions moves forward. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found the unions must bring their claims under federal employment law rather than in district court.

Last week, the administration ordered wide-ranging terminations of probationary employees — generally, those in their position for less than a year but up to two years and who have yet to gain civil service protection — as part of an overall goal of dramatically reducing the size and cost of government.

The complaint filed late Wednesday says the employees were sent standardized notices of termination, drafted by OPM, that falsely stated that the terminations were for performance reasons.

People rally at Health and Human Services headquarters to protest the polices of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Congress has determined that each agency is responsible for managing its own employees, and OPM lacks the constitutional, statutory, or regulatory authority to order federal agencies to terminate employees in the manner that it did, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint says OPM ordered the agencies to use a template e-mail it provided to terminate the workers and falsely inform them it was for performance reasons rather than as part of a government-wide policy to reduce headcount.

During the firings, numerous agencies informed workers that OPM ordered the terminations, according to the complaint.

“As of the filing of this Complaint, tens of thousands of probationary employees across dozens of federal agencies have already been terminated in the summary, assembly-line fashion directed by OPM,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit says the terminations were ultimately made on false pretenses and violate federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Overnight, tens of thousands of federal employees received the same termination letter citing ‘performance issues’ without any explanation or reasoning,” said a statement from Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “These mass firings are yet another unlawful attempt by this billionaire-run administration to gut public services.”

Many of the terminated probationary employees had received excellent performance reviews from their agencies, according to the complaint.

About 200,000 probationary employees are employed in agencies throughout the federal government, according to the lawsuit. Of them, about 15,000 are employed in California, where the complaint was filed, providing services ranging from fire prevention to veterans’ care.

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