Appeals Court Blocks Reinstatement of Fired Federal Probationary Workers, Affecting 20 Agencies
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decision has paused a Maryland District Court order requiring 20 federal agencies to reinstate fired probationary employees.
This follows a similar move by the Supreme Court, which stayed a lower court's decision that mandated reinstating workers at six agencies, impacting up to 16,000 employees.
The Trump administration seeks to terminate probationary workers as part of a broader federal government reduction initiative.
The Fourth Circuit ruled the Maryland District Court lacked jurisdiction and doubted the government could recover payments made to reinstated workers.
Judge DeAndrea G. Benjamin dissented, arguing the probationary workers’ firings violated federal statutes and harmed states.
The Supreme Court's decision to halt reinstatements was based on the claim that the nonprofit plaintiffs in the case lacked legal standing.
The halted Maryland court order initially protected employees from reductions in force and applied to agencies including the Department of Defense and the Office of Personnel Management.
Both cases involve the legality and scope of the federal government’s actions in firing probationary employees, as well as judicial boundaries in intervening in executive branch employment decisions.