The Trump administration is working to reinstate more than 24,000 probationary federal workers it fired as part of its efforts to downsize the government, following court rulings that declared the terminations illegal. According to court documents filed Monday night, 24,570 employees across 18 federal departments and agencies have been notified of their reinstatement, though many are being placed on administrative leave.
The filings come after two federal judges, in separate cases in Maryland and California, ordered the administration to temporarily reinstate the employees, ruling the mass firings violated federal regulations. In total, 24,583 probationary workers were dismissed, the filings revealed-the first comprehensive accounting of the layoffs.
In the Maryland case, U.S. District Judge James Bredar determined the terminations constituted illegal reductions in force (RIFs) because agencies failed to follow proper procedures, including notifying states of the economic impact. Separately, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in California ruled the terminations violated the law because they were directed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which lacks authority to direct hiring and firing decisions at other agencies.
Several agencies, including the Departments of Education, Transportation, Agriculture, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, indicated in court filings that reinstated employees would not immediately return to active duty but instead be placed on administrative leave. Officials cited significant logistical challenges, such as reissuing security clearances, onboarding paperwork, and providing equipment, in addition to uncertainty over whether appellate courts might reverse the rulings.
"In short, employees could be subjected to multiple changes in their employment status in a matter of weeks," several filings stated.
Judge Alsup expressed frustration over agencies placing reinstated employees on leave rather than returning them to full duty. "This is not allowed by the preliminary injunction, for it would not restore the services the preliminary injunction intends to restore," Alsup wrote Monday, ordering agencies to disclose how many workers were placed on administrative leave.
At the Federal Aviation Administration, Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, one of the probationary employees fired last month, was reinstated Tuesday. An email shared with NBC News showed the Transportation Department rescinded his termination "in compliance" with Judge Bredar's order and confirmed he would receive backpay.
However, implementation across agencies has been uneven. Three fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees reported Monday they had not yet received reinstatement notices or administrative leave status, despite court orders. "I want my job back," said Sarah Boim, a former CDC communications specialist, in an MSNBC interview. "I felt like I was really making a difference for the American people."
In both lawsuits, the administration defended the terminations as within executive authority, arguing that probationary employees lack full civil service protections and can be dismissed without individualized justification. Federal attorneys contended that performance-based language used in termination letters-many drafted by OPM-was sufficient under law.
"No statute or regulation requires that," administration lawyers wrote in the Maryland case, referring to individualized reasons for probationary dismissals.
However, some agencies indicated otherwise. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation noted in its filings that while it had fired 156 probationary employees in February, it only reinstated 151 because five had been dismissed based on "performance/conduct" grounds distinct from the broader mass layoffs.
The administration has appealed both rulings-one to the Ninth Circuit and the other to the Fourth Circuit-though no stays have been issued. In the meantime, agencies are complying under protest, citing operational burdens and potential confusion.
The firings, ordered last month after OPM issued guidance advising agencies to reduce workforce size, have drawn criticism from labor advocates and 19 states that joined the legal challenge. The move particularly impacted departments like Veterans Affairs, Energy, Defense, and the Treasury, where thousands of early-career employees were dismissed.
