Second judge blocks mass firings of probationary federal workers
by Ashleigh Fields - 03/14/25 8:18 AM ET
A second federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from firing federal workers, issuing an order Thursday that probationary employees be reinstated weeks after their dismissal.
The ruling, from U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar in Maryland, echoed an order from another federal judge in California on Thursday.
“In this case, the government conducted massive layoffs, but it gave no advance notice. It claims it wasn’t required to because, it says, it dismissed each one of these thousands of probationary employees for ‘performance’ or other individualized reasons,” wrote Bredar, an Obama appointee.
“On the record before the Court, this isn’t true. There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively,” he added.
Bredar noted that the massive layoffs should be considered “Reductions in Force,” which would require the government to provide advance notice to the states that would be impacted by the firings.
“Lacking the notice to which they were entitled, the States weren’t ready for the impact of so many unemployed people. They are still scrambling to catch up,” Judge Bredar wrote.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5194594-federal-judge-blocks-trump/
