Judge orders some federal agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary workers
A federal judge ordered that the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, and Treasury reinstate probationary employees who were terminated last month.
A federal judge in California on Thursday ordered that the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture and Treasury reinstate thousands of probationary employees who were fired last month.
The departments must “offer reinstatement to any and all probationary employees terminated on or about February 13,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote, referring to the date when the Office of Personnel Management held a call with department and agency heads and directed them to fire probationary employees.
Alsup said the office's directive to fire all probationary employees, in a written memo and the February phone call, was not legal.
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The office had provided departments and agencies with a template to use for firing the employees that said, "The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest."
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