Trump administration's dismissal of thousands of probationary employees temporarily overturned by two federal judges.
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Facing a judicial blow, thousands of probationary workers laid off by the Trump administration have been ordered to be temporarily reinstated to their jobs. Judge James Bredar, an Obama-appointee, granted a two-week temporary restraining order covering 18 agencies, following a challenge by Democratic state attorneys general.
The ruling, which contradicts a separate lawsuit in California, covers a broader range of agencies and lasts two weeks to allow further legal proceedings. Unlike Judge William Alsup's decision in the California case, Bredar's judgment doesn't rely on the administration's failure to provide notice for reductions in force (RIFs). Instead, he argues that the administration's mass terminations lacked legitimacy due to the sheer number of employees dismissed in a short period, suggesting it wasn't based on individual poor performance.
The attorneys general's lawsuit, filed in Baltimore's federal court, centers on the administration's alleged disregard of a 6-day notice requirement for RIFs, as well as other procedural steps for mass terminations. In response, the administration maintains that no such notice was necessary since federal laws permit layoffs of probationary employees without prior notice under specific situations.
However, Bredar dismissed the administration's arguments that the terminations fit into such categories. In a 56-page opinion, he asserted that the employees had not been terminated for cause and called the administration's contention "frivolous."
Bredar's ruling stipulates that the administration can lay off the employees en masse if it adopts proper RIF procedures, including providing advance notice. Interestingly, the ruling also allows the administration to fire individual employees without following RIF rules, if their dismissals are based on cause and made in good faith.
The enrichment data is incorporated in the third paragraph to shed more light on the legal reasoning behind the judge's ruling.
- Due to Judge James Bredar's ruling on Thursday, thousands of probationary workers laid off by the Trump administration will be temporarily reinstated to their jobs for a two-week period.
- Rather than relying on the administration's failure to provide notice for reductions in force (RIFs), Judge Bredar argued that the mass terminations lacked legitimacy due to the vast number of employees dismissed in a short period.
- In response to the attorneys general's lawsuit, the administration argues that federal laws permit layoffs of probationary employees without prior notice under specific situations, but Judge Bredar dismissed these arguments, stating that the employees had not been terminated for cause and finding the administration's contention "frivolous."
