A federal judge in San Francisco has issued a court order requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of new federal employees who were laid off in February. The decision by Judge William Alsup of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California came after he deemed the order from the Office of Personnel Management urging federal agency heads to lay off employees on probation illegal.
In an emotional statement, Alsup lamented the situation, calling it sad and criticizing the government for justifying the layoffs due to poor performance when, in reality, many of those laid off had excellent evaluations. Each agency must submit a list of the laid-off employees on probation to the court within a week and explain the actions taken with each of them.
The court order represents a setback for the Trump administration, which has been conducting a campaign to rapidly reduce the federal workforce. The administration is currently appealing Judge Alsup's decision. Trump is expected to nominate a third member to the board responsible for these decisions.
The San Francisco judge has been a strong critic of the Trump administration's actions in the past, having previously blocked the rescindment of the DACA program. The plaintiffs celebrated the decision as a victory for federal workers and reiterated their commitment to hold the administration accountable when it attempts to undermine the rights of citizens under the guise of reforms.
Moreover, efforts to reverse the layoffs of federal employees have increased, with the Merit Systems Protection Board ordering the temporary reinstatement of thousands of employees while an independent investigation is conducted. Despite these advancements, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be laid off in the coming weeks, a situation that concerns the labor and legal community.
At the hearing, Alsup expressed his disappointment with how the layoffs and subsequent litigation were handled, calling the process a "farce." The Trump administration has announced its intention to appeal the court order, arguing that the president has the authority to exercise executive power without the courts interfering in his agenda.
