In a recent ruling, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ordered the Trump administration to provide written statements to probationary workers who were fired en masse, clarifying that their terminations were not due to performance issues but were part of a broader government-wide termination. The lawsuit, filed by labor unions and nonprofits, challenged the mass firings of thousands of probationary workers under the Trump administration earlier this year.

Judge Alsup previously directed six federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers after determining that the Office of Personnel Management did not have the authority to order terminations outside its own agency. However, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and blocked Alsup’s order for reinstatement without ruling on the legality of the firings.

Alsup criticized the administration for using a template that falsely cited poor performance as the reason for firing probationary workers, emphasizing the long-term impact on the affected employees’ careers. The administration defended its actions by citing job indispensability as part of efforts to reduce the federal workforce significantly.

Furthermore, Alsup mandated that the terminated workers receive the written statements by May 8 and required agencies to provide individualized reasoning for any firings based on performance evaluations. Another federal judge in Maryland, overseeing a similar case brought by 19 states, found that the administration failed to comply with laws governing large-scale layoffs, including advance notice requirements.

Despite legal challenges and differing court rulings, the issue of mass firings of probationary workers under the Trump administration continues to raise concerns about due process and adherence to established procedures for workforce reductions in the federal government.