Trump administration reinstating nearly 25,000 fired federal workers
The administration of US President Donald Trump is working to reinstate nearly 25,000 federal workers who were laid off, following court rulings that deemed their terminations illegal, according to court documents.
Officials from 18 government departments and agencies have submitted filings to a federal court detailing their compliance with orders to rehire the affected probationary workers.
Last week, two federal judges ruled that the mass layoffs were unlawful and ordered the reinstatement of the dismissed employees while litigation continues. The layoffs were part of Trump’s broader effort to reduce the federal workforce, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Court filings in Baltimore on Monday revealed the extent of the layoffs, with 7,600 workers cut from the Treasury Department, 5,700 from the Department of Agriculture, over 3,200 from the Department of Health and Human Services, and several hundred from other agencies.
However, many reinstated workers will not immediately return to their jobs but will instead be placed on administrative leave.
On March 13, Judge James Bredar of Maryland and Judge William Alsup of California directed federal agencies to rehire thousands of fired probationary workers. While Judge Bredar’s ruling did not prevent agencies from terminating employees, it challenged the way the dismissals were carried out.
The lawsuit leading to this decision was brought by 19 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., arguing that mass layoffs would increase unemployment claims and put additional strain on social services.
In response to the government’s reinstatement efforts, Judge Bredar acknowledged “meaningful progress toward compliance.” However, Judge Alsup criticized the decision to place the rehired workers on administrative leave, arguing that it undermined the intent of the court’s injunction to restore government services.
The Department of Justice has appealed both rulings, while the Trump administration faces additional legal challenges in its bid to shrink the federal bureaucracy. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the government from further efforts to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Credit: BBC
