A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers fired in mass terminations last month, saying that the personnel office responsible lacked authority.
According to an Associated Press report, US District Judge William Alsup instructed the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defence, Energy, Interior, and Treasury to promptly reinstate employees let go around February 13 and 14, following guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell.
Alsup directed the agencies to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the departments complied with his order as to each person, added the report.
The temporary restraining order was issued in a lawsuit by a coalition of labor unions as the Republican administration seeks to downsize the federal workforce.
Judge Alsup voiced frustration over the government’s attempt to bypass laws regulating workforce reductions by terminating unprotected probationary workers. He criticised the firings of employees for poor performance, noting many had received positive evaluations just months prior.
“It is sad, a sad day, when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” AP quoted him as saying. “That should not have been done in our country,” he added.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/united-states/us-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-reinstate-thousands-of-fired-workers-13871371.html.
