Attorney General James Wins Court Order Reinstating Illegally Fired Probationary Federal Workers

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement after winning a court order forcing the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of illegally fired probationary federal employees by March 17. The court order is the result of a lawsuit brought by Attorney General James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general, alleging the Trump administration violated federal law by illegally firing thousands of probationary federal workers without providing advance notice:  

“Federal workers dedicate their careers to serving our country. They go to work every day to keep our communities safe, provide health care to those in need, and more. The Trump administration’s illegal mass firings of federal workers are causing destruction and confusion throughout the country, and they must stop. I applaud this ruling that restores thousands of federal workers’ jobs, and I will continue to fight to protect our federal workforce, and the services New Yorkers rely on, from this administration’s chaos.”

On March 6, Attorney General James joined a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration for illegally firing probationary employees. The attorneys general argued that the administration’s mass terminations of workers violated federal law requiring written notice to states and affected workers of any mass layoffs. 

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland granted Attorney General James and the coalition’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO). As part of the TRO, the Trump administration must reinstate thousands of illegally fired probationary employees that have been laid off since January 20 and is barred from conducting further mass firings in violation of the law. 

This is the latest example of Attorney General James taking action to protect federal workers and the critical services they provide. On March 13, Attorney General James led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education, including the firing of approximately half of its workforce. On February 11, Attorney General James joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of federal employees challenging the Trump administration’s harmful and misleading federal “buyout” plan. On February 3, Attorney General James led a coalition of 11 other attorneys general in warning federal workers against the Trump administration’s deceptive buyout offers.