Judge Finds Mass Firings of Federal Probationary Employees Likely Unlawful

He ordered OPM’s request be rescinded because of the possibility of more workers being let go.

Demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters

A federal judge granted partial relief to some of the federal government’s recently terminated probationary employees who argued that their termination from various agencies was unlawfully ordered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under the false cause of performance.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the OPM to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including at the Department of Defense.