US judge orders federal agencies to rehire employees fired in gov cut

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
13 Mar 2025 22:15

A US judge dismissed Trump's massive governmental purge and ordered the reinstatement of thousands of federal workers.

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President Donald Trump listens as Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)

On Thursday, a US judge ordered six federal agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the government.

Judge William Alsup ruled that citing "poor performance" as a reason for the mass layoffs was merely a pretext to bypass legal requirements, according to the New York Times.

In response to a lawsuit filed by employee unions, Alsup directed the Departments of the Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Interior to rehire workers who were wrongfully terminated.

"It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie," Alsup said during a hearing at the US District Court in San Francisco.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has aggressively cut government spending and dismissed tens of thousands of federal workers. However, his actions have faced legal challenges, with multiple judges issuing injunctions to block them.

Bribes for resignation?

Last week, CBS, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered all its employees the option to resign for a one-time payment of $25,000 voluntarily.

This offer was made in the context of widespread government layoffs announced by President Donald Trump.

The broadcaster said that the offer of voluntary resignation expires on Friday, March 14.

According to CBS, the US Department of Health employs more than 80,000 people.

Previously, employees of the US Social Security Administration (SSA) were offered a similar compensation of $25,000 for voluntary resignation.

Early this month, the US government agency responsible for providing benefits to tens of millions of older Americans announced plans to reduce its workforce by 7,000 employees as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to downsize the federal workforce.