Judge rules Trump administration illegally fired thousands of
probationary workers
[September 16, 2025]
By JANIE HAR
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration's central human resources
office acted illegally when it directed the mass firings of probationary
workers as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize the
federal workforce, a judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco said Friday in
awarding judgment to a coalition of labor unions and nonprofits that the
U.S. Office of Personnel Management “unlawfully exceeded its own powers
and usurped and exercised powers reserved by Congress to each
individual” federal agency to hire and fire its own workers.
He said the government “disagrees but does not persuade” in its defense
that the office did not direct employment decisions, but merely offered
guidance to other agencies.
“Judge Alsup’s decision makes clear that thousands of probationary
workers were wrongfully fired, exposes the sham record the government
relied upon, and requires the government to tell the wrongly terminated
employees that OPM’s reasoning for firing them was false," said Everett
Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government
Employees, in a statement.
The Office of Personnel Management did not immediately respond Monday to
an email seeking comment.
More than 25,000 probationary workers were terminated soon after Trump
took office in January, according to legal declarations from departments
gathered as part of the lawsuit.
Alsup in March ordered the reinstatement of probationary workers, saying
OPM had likely acted unlawfully in ordering the terminations of workers
at other agencies. But the U.S. Supreme Court set that decision aside in
April on a technical basis without ruling on the underlying case.
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The Theodore Roosevelt Building, location of the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, is pictured, Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Alsup, a nominee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, was
particularly troubled that workers were fired for poor performance,
which the administration defines as not being mission critical at a
time of cutbacks. Probationary workers are generally younger
employees who are just starting their careers, but they can also
include older employees who have moved into new positions.
In his Friday ruling, Alsup said too much time had passed to
reinstate fired workers, but he is ordering most of the agencies
named as defendants to update personnel files and send individual
letters to workers stating they were not terminated for performance.
Exempt agencies include the State Department and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
“The terminated probationary employees have moved on with their
lives and found new jobs. Many would no longer be willing or able to
return to their posts. The agencies in question have also
transformed in the intervening months by new executive priorities
and sweeping reorganization. Many probationers would have no post to
return to,” Alsup wrote.
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