Judge blocks Trump administration’s mass dismissals of probationary federal employees

A judge in California blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from ordering departments and agencies to begin dismissing recently hired probationary federal workers, saying the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacks the power to fire employees.

The move came during a court hearing over a lawsuit from labor unions and other groups challenging OPM’s mass terminations.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the mass terminations violate the Administrative Procedure Act requirements and congressional laws that deal with agency hiring and firing practices.

The judge ruled that OPM lacks the power to fire workers, including probationary employees who may have less than a year of civil service on the job.

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A federal judge has ruled against federal employees who sued the Trump administration over privacy and security concerns around a government workforce email distribution system. (iStock | Sarah Yenesel via Getty Images)

Last week, a federal judge declined to stop the Trump administration from firing federal workers and conducting mass layoffs, which allowed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to remain on track with its mission of finding and slashing wasteful government spending.

In one of the cases, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper shot down a request from several labor unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), to issue a pause on the mass firings of federal workers.

NTEU and four other labor unions representing the federal employees filed a complaint on Feb. 12, challenging the firing of probationary employees and the deferred resignation program.

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Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside the Department of Health and Human Services, Feb. 14, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Under the resignation program, federal employees were presented with a fork in the road, meaning they could either return to office or they could resign from their positions and continue to get paid through September. 

The deadline to decide was originally Feb. 6, though the date was ultimately deferred to Feb. 12, then subsequently closed that day.

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The unions moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the firing of probationary employees across all federal agencies and furtherance of the resignation program on Feb. 14, and the next day it was sent to Cooper’s court.

Cooper denied the request, though, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.

Instead, Cooper ruled the unions must pursue their challenges through the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which provides for administrative review by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.