US judge block Trump administration's call for mass firings of federal workers, calls it 'unlawful'
PTC News Desk: A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked Donald Trump administration's directives to federal agencies to carry out mass firings of recently hired employees as part of the government's drive to downsize the capacity.
District Judge William Alsup observed that mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful as the US Office of Personnel Management lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, granting relief to a coalition of labour unions and organisations that opposed the move in court.
“Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe,” to hire or fire any employees but its own, he said.
A lawsuit filed by five labor unions and five nonprofit organizations is among several legal challenges opposing the administration’s attempts to significantly reduce the federal workforce, which Trump has criticized as excessive and inefficient. Thousands of probationary employees have already been dismissed, and the administration is now targeting career officials who have civil service protections.
The plaintiffs argue that the Office of Personnel Management lacked the authority to terminate probationary workers, who typically have less than a year of service. They also claim that the dismissals were based on false allegations of poor performance.
- PTC NEWS
