A second judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reintegrate probation workers who have been released in mass layoffs in several agencies.
In Baltimore, the American district judge James Bredar, one appointed by Obama, noted that the administration ignored the laws aimed at large -scale layoffs. Bredar ordered that the layoffs were interrupted for at least two weeks and the job market returned to the status quo before the start of layoffs.
He has taken part of nearly two dozen states that have filed a legal action alleging that mass layoffs are illegal and already have an impact on the governments of the States when they try to help those who are suddenly unemployed.
The decision followed a similar of the American district judge William Alsup, who discovered Thursday morning that the dismissals of six agencies were led by the staff management office and the acting director, Charles Ezell, who did not have the power to do so.
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The demonstrators gathered in support of federal workers outside the Ministry of Health and Social Services, on February 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP photo / Mark Schiefelbein)
The order of Alsup indicates to the departments of veterans, agriculture, defense, energy, interior and treasury to immediately offer employee reinstatement to employees licensed on February 13 and 14.
The temporary prohibition order came in a trial brought by a coalition of unions and organizations while the republican administration moves to reduce the federal workforce.
A federal employee, who asked not to use his name to fear losing his job, manifests with a sign saying that “federal employees do not work for kings” on the “Kings day” against the day of presidents in Washington, in support of federal workers and against recent actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, February 17, 2025 Capitol in Washington. (AP photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
The Trump administration has already appealed to Alsup’s decision, arguing that states do not have the right to try to influence federal government relations with its own workers. The lawyers of the Ministry of Justice argued that the layoffs concerned performance problems, and not large -scale layoffs subject to specific regulations.
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The probationary workers have been targeted for layoffs through the federal government, as they are generally new in work and lack the protection of the public service. Several proceedings have been filed on mass layoffs.
Government lawyers maintain mass layoffs were legal because individual agencies examined and determined if employees in probation were able to make continuous employment.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the east room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday March 12, 2025. (AP photo / Alex Brandon)
Alsup, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, found it difficult to believe. He planned to hold a proof hearing on Thursday, but Ezell did not seem to testify in court or even sit for a deposition, and the government retracted his written testimony.
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There are around 200,000 probationary employees in federal agencies. They include entry -level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
