Two federal judges ruled that thousands of probationary federal workers, recently dismissed across multiple agencies, must be reinstated due to illegal termination processes. Judge James Bredar found that 18 agencies violated regulations when terminating employees en masse, contradicting the administration's claims of individualized dismissals. This decision affects agencies like the EPA and USAID. Similarly, Judge William Alsup in California mandated reinstatement of employees fired from six agencies. The rulings assert that probationary workers, despite having limited protections, can only be dismissed for performance issues, challenging the administration's approach to the layoffs.
"The sheer number of employees that were terminated in a matter of days belies any argument that these terminations were due to the employees' individual unsatisfactory performance or conduct," wrote Bredar.
District Judge James Bredar in Maryland ruled that 18 of the agencies which had fired probationary employees en masse in recent weeks violated regulations governing the laying off of federal workers.
Probationary workers can only be fired for performance issues, emphasizing their limited protections compared to other government employees.
The judges ordered the employees at least temporarily brought back on the job, highlighting legal irregularities in the mass terminations.
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