20 States Sue Federal Agencies Over Mass Terminations

The states say they’ve been harmed by the mass layoffs and want a court to reinstate the fired workers.

Maryland, California, and 18 other state attorneys general sued nearly two dozen federal agencies under President Donald Trump’s administration on March 6, seeking reinstatement for tens of thousands of newer workers laid off in recent weeks.

The mass terminations of probationary workers are illegal because the agencies have not been complying with legal requirements for reductions in force (RIFs), Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and the other attorneys general said in the lawsuit.

Among the requirements is providing 60 days of advance notice to workers and states.

“The Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) has unlawfully directed federal agencies to conduct mass terminations of probationary employees, suddenly and without any advance notice,” the suit, filed in federal court in Maryland, states. “Defendants have followed through on this directive, firing employees by the hundreds and, in many instances, thousands—all without following the procedures for conducting RIFs and without providing notice to the affected employees or states.”

The states say they’ve been harmed because they’re struggling to identify which agencies have conducted layoffs and which terminated workers require state support. They also say the terminated workers have sought unemployment and other social services.

“These layoffs are not only harmful to the federal workforce, but they’re also straining state resources and risk overburdening Maryland,” Brown said in a video statement.

The states are asking the court to order the 21 agency defendants to cease mass terminations of probationary workers and to reinstate any who were fired on or after Jan. 20, when Trump was sworn in.

“The Trump Administration’s sweeping mass firing of probationary federal employees is simply unlawful,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. He noted that more than 200,000 federal workers are on probationary status.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which represents federal agencies in court, did not respond to an early morning request for comment.

In a separate case being adjudicated in California, a federal judge recently ordered the immediate reinstatement of some probationary workers who had been fired, including workers with the Department of Defense.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that OPM, which had been sending directives to agencies to terminate probationary employees, does not have any authority to hire and fire employees outside the OPM.

The OPM revised one of its memorandums following the ruling.

“Please note that, by this memorandum, OPM is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions regarding probationary employees,” the revised memo stated. “Agencies have ultimate decision-making authority over, and responsibility for, such personnel actions.”