Judge orders return of dismissed probationary workers at VA, DOD

A federal judge Thursday ordered White House officials to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were dismissed in mass firings across multiple agencies, including nearly 8,000 individuals working at the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup called for “immediate offers of reinstatement” because of improper procedures ahead of the dismissals. His decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and organizations opposed to federal worker cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.

Despite the judicial order, if or when the dismissed federal workers will get their jobs back remains unclear. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling and has already moved to delay or refuse other judicial orders contrary to its policy priorities.

Workers in the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury are also covered under the ruling.

At least 2,400 probationary employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs were included in the initial attempts by Trump to downsize the federal workforce. Defense Department officials announced earlier this month plans to dismiss 5,400 probationary employees from its ranks, although leaders on Thursday did not say how many have been removed so far.

VA officials had promised the dismissals would not impact patient care or benefits processing efforts within the department. However, Democratic lawmakers have called the worker cuts erratic and poorly executed, with little clear analysis of the potential impact.

At least two support staffers at the Veterans Crisis Line — which handles emergency calls from suicidal veterans — were included in the initial staff cuts.

Although only probationary employees were included in the groups dismissed, in several cases that included senior federal workers who had switched jobs within the past year, technically giving them “new employee” status despite years of government employment.

Trump has promised even more federal staff cuts in coming months.

VA officials have confirmed they are considering returning to fiscal 2019 staffing levels, which would mandate eliminating more than 80,000 jobs.

Similarly, Defense Department leaders have called the dismissals of probationary workers the first step in broader workforce cuts. Those cuts will cover 5% to 8% of the Pentagon’s civilian workforce, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a February memo.

Defense News Reporter Noah Robertson and The Associated Press contributed to this story.