Appeal Court Rules On Probationary Federal Workers
A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to halt a lower court ruling that requires the Trump administration to reinstate more than 17,000 probationary federal employees terminated during a workforce reduction effort spanning six major federal agencies.
In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the administration failed to demonstrate that U.S. District Judge William Alsup had erred in concluding that the terminations likely violated federal law.
The court found that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government’s human resources agency, lacked authority to direct the agencies to carry out the mass firings.
The agencies involved include the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and the Treasury. While the court’s decision does not permanently resolve the matter, it leaves Alsup’s order in place pending the administration’s appeal. The Trump administration has also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay.
2/2 Full decision. Trump will need to appeal this to Supreme Court. Question is how will Supreme Court handle 6-10 requests for stays where cases involve many similar issues but where little has been litigated but infringement on Executive is huge? https://t.co/GkCd4MpPOm
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) March 27, 2025
The affected employees, most of whom were in their probationary period, had varying lengths of service. Though typically seen as temporary, some probationary employees are longtime federal workers who had recently shifted roles or agencies.
Following the March 17 court filing, the Trump administration stated it was complying with the ruling by beginning the reinstatement process and placing the affected workers on paid administrative leave.
The layoffs were the initial phase of a broader strategy by President Trump and senior adviser Elon Musk to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce. The move was framed as part of an effort to streamline government operations and cut federal expenditures.
The scale of the terminations varied across agencies. Court documents indicate the Treasury Department dismissed over 7,600 probationary employees, the Department of Agriculture approximately 5,700, and both the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Interior around 1,700 each. The Department of Defense terminated about 360 employees.
Judge Alsup’s March 13 ruling determined that OPM exceeded its authority by instructing agencies to fire employees. That same day, a separate federal judge in Baltimore issued a similar reinstatement order affecting 25,000 workers across 18 federal agencies, based on distinct legal arguments. That ruling is also under appeal. A Richmond-based appellate court has already declined to pause the Maryland decision while the appeal is underway.