In a win for President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision blocked the effort of U.S. Judge William Alsup to force the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired workers in numerous federal agencies.
On March 13, Alsup, a San Francisco judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton, had ruled on a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions that federal agencies had to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees fired by the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He ordered OPM and the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs to bring back employees immediately.
Calling the fact that the Trump administration attributed the firings to “performance,” Alsup called that a “gimmick,” adding, “It is sad, a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie. … The words that I give you today should not be taken that some wild-and-crazy judge in San Francisco said that an administration cannot engage in a reduction in force. It can be done, if it’s done in accordance with the law.”
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for a stay of Alsup’s order, which was granted. “The district court’s extraordinarily overbroad remedy is now inflicting ongoing, irreparable harm on the Executive Branch that warrants this Court’s urgent intervention,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the court.
“The District Court’s injunction was based solely on the allegations of the nine non-profit-organization plaintiffs in this case. But under established law, those allegations are presently insufficient to support the organizations’ standing,” the Supreme Court ruled.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
“The full implications of the ruling are not clear given that a federal judge in Maryland earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction that reinstated some of the employees not covered in the case before the Supreme Court,” CNN noted.
“Although the court put Alsup’s order on hold, a different federal judge in Maryland also has issued an order, which remains in effect for now, that requires the reinstatement of probationary employees at 20 federal agencies who live and work in the 19 states (along with the District of Columbia) that brought the case,” ScotusBlog explained.
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In a win for President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision blocked the effort of U.S. Judge William Alsup to force the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired workers in numerous federal agencies.
On March 13, Alsup, a San Francisco judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton, had ruled on a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions that federal agencies had to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees fired by the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He ordered OPM and the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs to bring back employees immediately.
Calling the fact that the Trump administration attributed the firings to “performance,” Alsup called that a “gimmick,” adding, “It is sad, a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie. … The words that I give you today should not be taken that some wild-and-crazy judge in San Francisco said that an administration cannot engage in a reduction in force. It can be done, if it’s done in accordance with the law.”
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for a stay of Alsup’s order, which was granted. “The district court’s extraordinarily overbroad remedy is now inflicting ongoing, irreparable harm on the Executive Branch that warrants this Court’s urgent intervention,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the court.
“The District Court’s injunction was based solely on the allegations of the nine non-profit-organization plaintiffs in this case. But under established law, those allegations are presently insufficient to support the organizations’ standing,” the Supreme Court ruled.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
“The full implications of the ruling are not clear given that a federal judge in Maryland earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction that reinstated some of the employees not covered in the case before the Supreme Court,” CNN noted.
“Although the court put Alsup’s order on hold, a different federal judge in Maryland also has issued an order, which remains in effect for now, that requires the reinstatement of probationary employees at 20 federal agencies who live and work in the 19 states (along with the District of Columbia) that brought the case,” ScotusBlog explained.
“}]]
