Supporters gather in solidarity with federal workers outside the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington on February 14th. A federal judge on Thursday night ruled that the Trump administration must temporarily reinstate thousands of federal workers who were dismissed. U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order against multiple agencies and departments across the federal government that had terminated employees as part of workforce reduction efforts.
Judge Bredar criticized the government for conducting large-scale layoffs without providing advance notice. He noted that individualized assessments were not conducted and all employees were simply dismissed en masse. The order affects 12 departments and agencies that terminated probationary workers, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, and more.
The affected workers have until March 17th to be reinstated. Judge Bredar acknowledged the significant impact his order would have on the federal workforce and the resources required to undo the dismissals. A group of states with Democratic attorneys general initiated the lawsuit seeking reinstatement for the terminated employees.
The Defense Department, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives were exempt from the order due to insufficient evidence of workforce reduction. The White House did not provide immediate comment on the ruling. In a separate case, a federal judge in California directed several departments to reinstate probationary employees terminated by the Trump administration, prompting an appeal from the Justice Department.
