"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," he said.
US District Judge William Alsup called the firings a “sham” and accused the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of unlawfully bypassing federal workforce reduction laws. His ruling orders the Defense, Treasury, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs departments to immediately offer the employees their jobs back.
Alsup, a Clinton appointee based in San Francisco, slammed the Justice Department’s handling of the case, accusing Trump administration lawyers of withholding key details, reports Politico.
“You will not bring the people in here to be cross-examined. You’re afraid to do so because you know cross-examination would reveal the truth,” Alsup told a DOJ attorney in court.
The mass terminations were originally justified as performance-related, but Alsup dismissed that claim, calling it “a gimmick.”
“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,” he said.
Alsup’s ruling forces agencies to offer reinstatement, but made clear that legal “reductions in force” (RIFs) could still take place if done properly. Federal agencies are currently finalizing such plans.
The lawsuit was filed by federal employee unions and nonprofit groups, which argued the firings harmed national parks, veterans’ hospitals, and other public services. The decision follows a separate civil service board ruling that reinstated 5,000 USDA workers for 45 days. However, Alsup’s order is the most sweeping legal action yet against the Trump administration’s effort to downsize the federal workforce.
During the hearing, Alsup said that Trump’s attempts to remove members of federal oversight boards could hinder workers’ ability to challenge terminations. He had ordered OPM’s acting head, Charles Ezell, to testify, but DOJ attorneys refused to make him available.
“You’re not helping me get at the truth. You’re giving me press releases, sham documents,” Alsup said, reportedly visibly frustrated.
DOJ attorneys defended the firings, arguing they were not directed by OPM but carried out by individual agencies to align with the administration’s priorities. However, the judge noted that some agencies explicitly told employees they were instructed by OPM to fire probationary workers deemed non-essential.
Probationary status is common in the federal workforce, applying to many new hires and recently promoted employees who lack full civil service protections. Some long-time federal workers lost their jobs due to their probationary status, adding to the controversy.
Alsup’s ruling does not prevent further layoffs.
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