Los Angeles, United States:
A federal judge has ordered the US government to reverse mass firings of federal employees linked to former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s plan to reduce the government workforce. The ruling, issued on Thursday, directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to withdraw directives that resulted in thousands of layoffs.
US District Judge William Alsup, presiding in San Francisco, stated that OPM has no legal authority to hire or fire employees at other federal agencies. “Congress has given the authority to hire and fire to the agencies themselves,” he explained, citing the Department of Defense as an example.
The decision is a significant legal setback for Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce. It follows other recent court rulings that blocked his ban on refugee admissions and suspended an executive order attempting to overturn birthright citizenship.
The case was brought by labor unions and advocacy groups who argued that the layoffs violated federal employment laws. Their lawsuit highlighted that OPM does not have the constitutional or statutory power to order terminations at other agencies.
The judge’s ruling impacts tens of thousands of federal employees, many of whom were probationary workers in their first or second year of employment. According to legal filings, the plaintiffs accused OPM of orchestrating “one of the most massive employment frauds in US history.”
With the ruling in place, the government is now required to reinstate affected employees.
