A US federal judge on Tuesday said the administration of President Donald Trump cannot quickly fire thousands of probationary federal workers in 19 states and Washington, DC, narrowing an earlier nationwide ruling.
According to District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore, Maryland, if federal agencies want to fire large numbers of probationary workers, they must follow the required procedures for conducting mass layoffs of government employees.
Bredar said that the administration failed to do so when it terminated about 24,500 people in February without notifying states and local governments in advance.
However, he said he only had the power to require the reinstatement of employees who either live or work in the mostly Democratic-led states that, along with Washington, DC, sued over the mass firings.
At the time of filing this report, representatives for the White House have not made any comment on the development.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, said the Trump administration's claim that the workers were fired for poor performance was false.
“This was a coordinated effort to eliminate the federal workforce – even if it meant breaking the law,” Brown said in a statement.
DAILY POST reports that probationary employees typically have less than a year of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees.
On March 13, Bredar had already ruled that the firings were likely illegal and ordered 18 agencies to reinstate workers who had been fired pending further litigation.
The decision on Tuesday will be in place pending the outcome of the lawsuit, which could take months or longer to resolve.
A large number of federal employees live in Washington and neighboring Maryland, while some of the most populous U.S. states, including California, New York, and Illinois, are plaintiffs in the case.
The Trump administration has appealed Bredar's earlier decision, claiming the firings were lawful and the judge lacked the power to require workers to be reinstated.
A US appeals court panel earlier in March declined to pause his ruling, but a Trump-appointed judge criticized the nationwide scope of the order.
