Oregon AG Helps Secure Injunction Forcing 20 Federal Agencies to Reinstate Trump-Fired Probationary Workers
A coalition of 20 attorneys general, including Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, won a preliminary injunction (PI) earlier this week that provides that 20 federal agencies must reinstate unlawfully terminated probationary employees while the court case continues and must follow lawful procedures in the future when considering workforce reductions.
In Maryland et al. v. USDA in the United States District Court for Maryland, the coalition of AGs sued several federal agencies for the unlawful mass firing of federal probationary employees on March 6. Oregon’s AG was a party to the lawsuit to reinstate thousands of workers fired by Trump’s surprise order.
The AGs argued that the firing order caused irreparable injuries to Oregon and the other plaintiff states and sought immediate relief.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 14 against 18 federal agencies, which was later extended to April 1. Had the PI not been obtained, there would have been devastating impacts on Oregon, the plaintiff states, and their probationary employees.
Rayfield said, “The court’s decision to reinstate them is a powerful reminder that justice should always rise above political recklessness.”
The injunction protects federal probationary employees who live or work in the plaintiff states and ensures that, as the case is heard in court, the following federal agencies cannot continue their unlawful conduct:
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Defense
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Interior
- Department of Labor
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Treasury
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- General Services Administration
- Office of Personnel Management
- Small Business Administration
- United States Agency for International Development