A U.S. federal judge has ordered six government agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were dismissed as part of Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the federal workforce.
Judge William Alsup ruled on Thursday that the justification of “poor performance” for the mass firings was a “sham” designed to bypass legal protections for employees, according to the New York Times.
The ruling, which came in response to a lawsuit by employee unions, directs the Departments of Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Interior to rehire workers who were improperly dismissed.
“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 U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has implemented sweeping job cuts and spending reductions across multiple federal agencies. His policies have faced strong legal opposition, with courts issuing multiple injunctions to block his administration’s actions.
