Appeals court stops rehiring of 24,000 federal employees

A federal appeals court has paused a lower court’s ruling ordering the government to rehire around 24,000 probationary workers. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the government is likely to succeed in showing that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the claims of the workers. The ruling stays an order from last month that required the workers to be rehired, ending the last injunction for their reinstatement. This decision comes after the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling halting an order from a California judge to reinstate around 16,000 workers the Trump administration had sought to fire. The 4th Circuit decision stemmed from a federal judge’s ruling in Maryland, who sided with a coalition of states arguing that the government did not follow proper procedures for firing such a large number of employees. U.S. District Judge James Bredar wrote that the government claimed it fired each probationary employee for performance or individualized reasons, but the court found this not to be true. The government conducted massive layoffs without advanced notice, which led to the ruling in favor of the workers. The decision to pause the lower court’s order will remain in effect until the government’s full appeal is decided.

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