A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s orders the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies to carry out massive shootings of some employees.
US District Judge William Alsup said Thursday in San Francisco that the U.S. Department of Personnel Management (OPM) does not have the authority to order federal agencies to fire workers, including probation employees who typically have less than a year of experience.
Alsup has ordered the Federal Agency’s Human Resources division to identify probation employees that should be fired in order to withdraw the Jan. 20th and Feb. 14th email supervisors.
Alsup said it cannot order the Department of Defense itself, which is expected to fire 5,400 probation employees on Friday. Other agencies said they would not terminate workers as they are not defendants in lawsuits filed by multiple unions and nonprofits.
However, he suggested that mass shootings by federal workers, which began two weeks ago, cause widespread harm, including national park cuts, scientific research for veterans and services.
“Probation employees are the lifeline of our government. They come at a low level and go their way. That’s how we update ourselves,” said Bill Clinton appointee, Allsup.
Alsup reported the order in a case filed last week by trade unions and nonprofits.
The complaint filed by five trade unions and five nonprofits is one of multiple lawsuits that pushes back the administration’s efforts to significantly reduce the federal workforce.
Thousands of probation employees have already been fired. Just Thursday, hundreds of workers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US’s outstanding climate research agency, learned they had lost their jobs.
The plaintiffs say the OPM did not have the authority to terminate the work of probation workers, who generally have work for less than a year. They also say that the termination is based on lies of poor performance by workers.
The Trump administration has argued that notes and emails from the OPM have not only asked agencies to confirm the probation workforce and determine who could be fired, but they have no need to do anything.
“Orders are not usually expressed as requests,” U.S. Department of Justice Kelsey Heland told ALSUP at the hearing.
However, the judge said it is unlikely that virtually all federal agencies have decided to independently destroy staff.
“Why does that happen when agencies decide for themselves to do something so extraordinary? I don’t believe it,” said Alsup.
There is an estimated 200,000 probation workers (typically less than a year) across federal agencies. Around 15,000 people are employed in California, providing services ranging from fire prevention to veteran care, the complaint says.
