A split 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel turned back an emergency motion late Wednesday to pause the order from U.S. District Judge William Alsup in a case brought by labor unions and nonprofits as Republican President Donald Trump moves to dramatically downsize the federal workforce. Alsup, a Bill Clinton appointee, is one of two judges who found alleged legal problems with the way the firings of probationary workers were carried out.
Two of the three judges on the panel ruled against the request for an emergency stay. The dissenting judge said the government had a strong argument against reinstating the workers.
The government has appealed Alsup's order to the Supreme Court, arguing that judges cannot “micromanage” federal worker policies or force the rehiring of more than 16,000 workers.
Within hours of Alsup's ruling, a judge in Baltimore found separate legal problems with the handling of the firings. In a lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen states affected by the layoffs, U.S. District Judge James Bredar said the administration did not follow laws set out for large-scale layoffs. That case involved a wider range of agencies, and the plaintiffs estimate about 24,000 probationary workers are affected.
The administration contends that states have no right to try to influence the federal government’s relationship with its own workers. Justice Department lawyers argued that the firings were for performance issues and are not the large-scale layoffs subject to specific regulations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cast it as an attempt to encroach on the president’s power to hire and fire employees.
There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry-level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.
