According to court filings in one of two cases where terminations were deemed illegal, the Trump administration has taken steps to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were fired as part of the federal government’s downsizing efforts.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar, a former President Obama appointee, ordered last week the mass reinstatement of fired probationary workers at 18 federal agencies after determining that the government’s claims that the terminations were due to “performance” issues “isn’t true.”
The government filed more than a dozen declarations Monday night, indicating that it is moving to reinstate more than 24,000 federal probationary employees. The filings provide the most detailed look yet at the sweeping terminations.
According to officials at the agencies, the majority of reinstated workers were placed on paid administrative leave, though some have returned to full employment.
They warned that the change could cause havoc for fully reinstated employees, in particular, who will need to be onboarded and trained again but may lose their jobs again if Bredar’s decision is overturned on appeal.
“Whether required by operation of the TRO here or another court or administrative order, reinstatement of removed employees to full duty status could impose burdens on DOE and cause significant confusion and turmoil for the terminated employees,” wrote Reesha Trznadel, acting chief human capital officer at the Department of Energy, in one of the declarations filed.
The Trump administration has quickly sought to reshape the federal bureaucracy, including firing thousands of employees during their probationary period, which typically lasts for the first year or two of a given employee’s tenure.
Bredar’s decision followed a similar order by a federal judge in San Francisco to reinstate those terminated at six agencies after determining the firings were illegal just hours earlier. Bredar’s ruling also encompassed those six agencies.
