Federal watchdog agency intervenes in Trump’s purge of probationary employees

The independent agency that protects federal workers from illegal actions says there’s evidence the Trump administration has violated federal law in firing probationary employees — typically, those in their first or second year in that job.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has asked for a stay of the terminations of six federal employees who were fired over the past two weeks.

In a statement, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger pointed to legal principles that guide how federal agencies hire and fire employees. He notes that all employees, including those still in their probationary period, should be evaluated based on individual performance.

None of the federal employees brought to his attention had performance issues, according to the Special Counsel’s filing with the Merit Systems Protection Board, the federal body that would enforce a stay. They included disabled veterans working for the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs who would receive preference in a mass layoff done legally.

Instead, the filing states, the evidence indicates that agencies improperly used the employees’ probationary status to accomplish a downsizing of the workforce, without following the proper procedures for doing so.

“Firing probationary employees without individualized cause appears contrary to a reasonable reading of the law,” Dellinger wrote. “I believe I have a responsibility to request a stay of these actions while my agency continues to investigate further the apparent violation of federal personnel laws.”

The decision to seek a stay issued Friday and first reported Monday by Government Executive came in response to a class complaint filed by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward and the Alden Law Group.

The MSPB can grant or deny the request for a stay, but if it does nothing, the stay will take effect after three business days, according to Democracy Forward.

The stay would only apply to the six individuals, but the Office of Special Counsel notes that Dellinger is considering ways to seek relief for a broader group of federal employees who were similarly fired.

Unions challenge the mass firings in federal court

Separately, a coalition of labor unions and civic organizations has asked a federal court in San Francisco to temporarily block the Trump administration from firing probationary employees.

The lawsuit, originally filed on Feb. 19, argues that the Office of Personnel Management has no authority to manage employees of federal agencies other than its own.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup gave the government until Wednesday morning to file its opposition, and scheduled a hearing for 1:30 p.m. PT Thursday.

The unions’ complaint points to a federal statute that states, “The head of an Executive department or military department may prescribe regulations for the government of his department, the conduct of its employees, the distribution and performance of its business, and the custody, use and preservation of its records, papers and property.”

In other words, while OPM handles many human resource functions for the federal workforce, it does not have Congressional authority to tell other agencies what to do.

“Each agency has its own authorizing statutes that govern its administration,” the unions’ attorneys wrote.

Over the past couple weeks, the Trump administration has fired tens of thousands of federal employees, with more dismissals expected this week. It has placed thousands more across the government on administrative leave, leaving them unable to do their work.

Have information you want to share about ongoing changes across the federal government? NPR's Andrea Hsu can be contacted through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08.

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