Judge Orders Reinstatement of Thousands of Trump-era Probationary Employees Fired

Late Thursday, a federal judge mandated that thousands of federal employees dismissed by the Trump administration be temporarily reinstated.

U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order affecting numerous agencies and departments across the federal government that had laid off employees as part of workforce reduction initiatives.

“In this situation, the government executed extensive layoffs without providing any prior notice. It asserts it wasn’t obligated to do so, claiming that each of these thousands of probationary employees was dismissed for ‘performance’ or other individual reasons,” Bredar noted in his ruling.

“However, the evidence before the Court contradicts this assertion. No individual evaluations of the employees were conducted; they were simply let go as a group,” he continued.

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The order affects 12 departments that have terminated probationary workers, including Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.

It also applies to probationary workers recently dismissed from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration.

These entities have until March 17 at 1 p.m. ET to reinstate the affected employees.

Bredar recognized the repercussions of his ruling amid the government’s termination of approximately 200,000 probationary employees — those who are either new hires or have recently changed positions — since President Donald Trump took office in January.

“The Court acknowledges the practical implications of the relief being ordered today, which will yield significant effects on the federal workforce and compel the Government to allocate substantial resources to reverse the [reductions in force] already implemented,” Bredar stated.

“When, as is expected in this instance, the Government has participated in an illicit scheme affecting broad segments of the federal workforce, the task of rectifying that scheme will undoubtedly be extensive,” he added.

A coalition of states led by Democratic attorneys general initiated the lawsuit to seek a temporary restraining order aiming to restore the jobs of the terminated employees, arguing that the Trump administration bypassed established protocols for mass layoffs.

The Defense Department, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives were not included in the judge’s order due to a lack of “sufficient evidence” supporting that a reduction in force had taken place, as noted by Bredar.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the ruling in a message on X.

“We’re happy with the court’s decision to restrain the reckless directive of the Trump Administration, and we will continue to monitor and ensure compliance,” he stated.

The White House has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Earlier in the day, a federal judge in California ordered that the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Treasury offer reinstatement to the thousands of probationary employees dismissed last month by the Trump administration. The Justice Department has filed a notice of appeal regarding this case.