Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
Update 14 March: Last night, a second judge sided with federal employees who have been laid off since President Trump took office on 20 January. In a suit brought by attorneys general in 20 states, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar of Maryland issued a temporary restraining order to halt termination of probationary employees laid off from 18 federal agencies, including the EPA.
Today, a federal judge in San Francisco extended a previously issued temporary restraining order (TRO), ordering the Trump administration to offer reinstatement to all probationary employees previously fired from the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. The ruling could reinstate thousands of federal employees, including scientists, who were fired by directives from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
At least 30,000 probationary federal employees have been fired. Judge William Alsup ruled that OPM had no legal authority to direct the mass firings of federal employees via emails or phone calls as it did in February; downsizing the federal workforce, he explained, must be done through reductions in force.
The ruling does not guarantee reinstatement for workers. It extends the TRO and states that reductions in force currently underway or anticipated at other agencies are still legal. (Judge Alsup did, however, make clear that he was open to expanding his decision to apply to other agencies when similar extents of harm were documented at those agencies.)
Related
• Judge orders Trump officials to offer jobs back to fired probationary workers (Washington Post)
• Thousands of fired federal workers must be offered reinstatement, a judge rules (NPR)
• Message from Interim CEO Janice R. Lachance (AGU)
• Get Involved: AGU Science Policy Action Center
The judge, who last month issued a temporary restraining order against OPM firings that called them “unlawful” and “invalid,” berated a Justice Department attorney for obstructing the evidence-gathering process and submitting “sham” documents. The acting director of OPM, Charles Ezell, defied a judge’s order to testify in court.
AGU, which publishes Eos, is a co-plaintiff on this case. After the ruling, AGU’s Interim Executive Director and CEO Janice R. Lachance said, “AGU is very encouraged by today’s ruling in the Northern District of California. The judge’s decision that the Office of Personnel Management made an unlawful decision to terminate federal workers is a welcome one, and we were proud to sign on as a plaintiff in the case. But things are far from over, and we will continue to support you and protect the greater scientific enterprise for the growth, stability, and health of our world. Your fight is our fight.”
Judge Alsup ordered that OPM prove within 7 days that it had offered reinstatement to all fired probationary employees.
—Kimberly M. S. Cartier (@astrokimcartier.bsky.social), Staff Writer
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