U.S. Court: Trump Administration's Directives to Lay Off Thousands of Employees Are Illegal but No Order to Rehire Them

A U.S. district court in San Francisco ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration issued illegal directives that led to the mass layoff of nearly 25,000 federal employees who were under probation, but the court did not order their reinstatement, relying on recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge William Alsup confirmed that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued illegal instructions to several federal agencies last February, which resulted in the dismissal of employees under the pretext of "poor performance," even though some had been in their new jobs for a long time.

Despite the judge's insistence that the decision warranted the cancellation of the directive and the reinstatement of the employees, the Supreme Court made it clear that it would not allow any judicial relief regarding appointments and dismissals within the executive branch, prompting Alsup to refrain from issuing a reinstatement order, especially after many of the dismissed had secured new jobs.

Although no reinstatement order was issued, the judge ordered 19 federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Treasury, to:
- Update the files of affected employees by November 14
- Refrain from following the Office of Personnel Management's directives regarding mass layoffs

This case follows a series of lawsuits filed by unions, nonprofit organizations, and the state of Washington.