Judge orders Trump-era agencies to clarify mass Federal firings were not performance-based

A US district judge has directed the Trump-era administration to formally notify thousands of probationary federal employees fired in 2018 that their dismissals were not performance-related, but part of a government-wide termination effort.

The ruling, issued Friday by Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, requires agencies to provide each affected worker with a written statement by May 8 stating they were not let go due to poor performance. If any termination was indeed performance-based, the agency must submit a sworn, sealed declaration justifying the decision with specific reasoning.

Alsup is presiding over a lawsuit brought by labor unions and nonprofit organizations challenging the mass dismissal of probationary employees under former President Donald Trump. The plaintiffs argue the firings, executed in February 2018, were unlawful and directed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which lacked authority to fire employees outside its own agency.

In March, Alsup ordered six federal agencies to reinstate the dismissed workers. However, the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked that order last week without ruling on the legality of the terminations themselves.

Judge Alsup strongly criticized the use of an OPM template citing “poor performance” as the reason for dismissal, stating it would unfairly damage the career prospects of young professionals.

“Termination under the false pretense of performance is an injury that will persist for the working life of each civil servant,” Alsup wrote. “The stain created by OPM’s pretense will follow each employee through their careers and will limit their professional opportunities.”

While administration attorneys maintain that OPM did not issue the firing orders, Alsup concluded that it would have been impossible for the agencies to have conducted proper individual performance evaluations within such a short time frame.

A similar case is unfolding in Maryland, where US District Judge James Bredar initially issued an injunction to reinstate affected workers, finding that the Trump administration violated labor laws requiring 60 days’ advance notice for large-scale layoffs. That injunction was overturned last week by the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The legal battle continues as courts consider whether the terminations were not only unjustified but also unlawful.