Appeals Court Won't Pause Ruling to Reinstate Federal Workers

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday refused to pause a judge's ruling requiring the administration of President Donald Trump to reinstate more than 17,000 workers at six agencies who lost their jobs as part of Trump's purge of the federal workforce.

A 2-1 panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Trump administration had failed to establish a federal judge erred by finding that agencies likely could not fire workers at the direction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the human resources department for the federal government.

The Trump administration in court filings on March 17 said that the agencies were working to reinstate the fired employees, while temporarily placing them on paid leave. Wednesday's decision will be in place pending the outcome of the administration's appeal.

The administration has also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the judge's ruling.

The decision applies to the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and the Treasury Department.

Probationary employees typically have less than one year, and sometimes less than two years, of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees.

The mass firings of probationary workers was the first step in broader efforts by Trump and top adviser Elon Musk to drastically shrink the federal workforce and slash government spending.