The Trump administration has begun taking steps to reinstate nearly 25,000 federal employees after a judge declared the firings illegal.
Last week, U.S. District Judge James Bredar ordered the employees to be reinstated, arguing the administration’s claims that employees were removed for their “performance” in the workplace “isn’t true.”
“There were no individualized assessments of employees,” the judge wrote. “They were all just fired.”
The Trump administration has since moved to reinstate the more than 24,000 federal probationary employees.
“Whether required by operation of the [temporary restraining order] TRO here or another court or administrative order, reinstatement of removed employees to full duty status would impose substantial burdens on EPA, cause significant confusion, and cause turmoil for the terminated employees,” wrote Krysti Wells, the Director of the Office of Human Capital Operations, Office of Mission Support, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Similar statements were issued by Reesha Trznadel, the acting chief human capital officer at the Department of Energy, Mark Green, the deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Interior, and other officials.
Trznadel wrote that the reinstatement of those previously removed “could impose burdens on DOE and cause significant confusion and turmoil for the terminated employees.” The official added that an “appellate ruling could reverse the district court’s order shortly after terminated employees have been reinstated (via administrative leave or otherwise) or have returned to full duty status,” and therefore shift the employees.
Green stated in the filing that “schedules and assignments are effectively being tied to hearing and briefing schedules set by the courts. It will be extremely difficult to assign new work to reinstated individuals in light of the uncertainty over their future status.”
Each of the officials providing statements in the 62-page court document noted that they are working in compliance with Bredar’s order to reinstate the employees.
