Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Assets Under ControlAssets Under Control

Politics

Second judge orders Trump admin to rehire probationary workers let go in mass firings

A second judge late Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.  

In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, an Obama appointee, found that the administration ignored laws set out for large-scale layoffs. Bredar ordered the firings halted for at least two weeks and the workforce returned to the status quo before the layoffs began.

He sided with nearly two dozen states that filed a lawsuit alleging the mass firings are illegal and already having an impact on state governments as they try to help those who are suddenly jobless.

The ruling followed a similar one by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who found Thursday morning that terminations across six agencies were directed by the Office of Personnel Management and acting director, Charles Ezell, who lacked the authority to do so.

Alsup’s order tells the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to immediately offer job reinstatement to employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14. He also directed the departments to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the agencies complied with his order as to each person.

The temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and organizations as the Republican administration moves to reduce the federal workforce.

The Trump administration has already appealed Alsup’s ruling, arguing that the states have no right to try and influence the federal government’s relationship with its own workers. Justice Department attorneys argued the firings were for performance issues, not large-scale layoffs subject to specific regulations.

Probationary workers have been targeted for layoffs across the federal government because they’re usually new to the job and lack full civil service protection. Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the mass firings.

Lawyers for the government maintain the mass firings were lawful because individual agencies reviewed and determined whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.

Alsup, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, has found that difficult to believe. He planned to hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday, but Ezell did not appear to testify in court or even sit for a deposition, and the government retracted his written testimony.

There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry-level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

You May Also Like

Editor's Pick

Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon For nearly 60 years, the United States steel industry has been one of the most protected sectors of the...

Politics

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s future as president of Ukraine was cast into doubt by longtime supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and others after the embattled leader...

Politics

President Donald Trump will make the first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. His first six weeks...

Editor's Pick

If the essence of stock investing is to buy low and sell high, then buying not just low, but at a steep discount, optimizes...

Generated by Feedzy