A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday ordered multiple agencies to reinstate tens of thousands of probationary employees fired as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the federal workforce, calling the terminations a “sham.”
U.S. District Judge William Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ruled that the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Dennis Ezell, unlawfully directed mass firings across six agencies, including the departments of Defense, the Treasury, Energy, Agriculture, the Interior, and Veterans Affairs.
“The relief that’s going to be granted is as follows,” Alsup said in court, noting that his order from the bench takes effect immediately. “The Veterans Administration shall immediately offer reinstatement to any and all probationary employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14, 2025. This order finds that all such terminations were directed by defendants OPM and acting director Ezell and were unlawful.”
Alsup also barred the VA and other agencies from using the termination template issued by OPM, stating, “Defendants have attempted to recast these directives as mere guidance.”
The judge further accused OPM of obstructing the court’s investigation. “The government, I believe, has tried to frustrate the judge’s ability to get at the truth … and then settle with sham declarations,” Alsup said.
A Justice Department lawyer defending the Trump administration pushed back on the judge’s assertions, arguing that the firings were part of a well-publicized agenda.
“It starts to sound a bit conspiratorial to think that these press releases coming out of multiple agencies … were anything but a clear agenda priority for the administration,” the Trump DOJ attorney said.
The ruling marks one of the strongest legal rebukes of Trump’s federal workforce policies and is expected to be appealed.
Notably, Alsup defended himself from anticipated accusations that a “crazy judge in San Francisco” just constrained agencies’ ability to reduce their workforces under the law.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TELLS AGENCIES TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS ON PROBATION
“This case is not about that,” Alsop said, accusing OPM of using a loophole to fire federal employees en masse.
He contended that agencies have the power to reduce their force but said, “It has to comply with the statutory requirements,” pointing to the Reduction In Force Act and the Civil Service Act.