Trump administration must reinstate thousands of fired workers, judge rules

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By Caitlin Tremblay

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San Francisco residents photograph a group of protesters during a demonstration against the mass firings of federal employees, March 1, 2025. REUTERS/Yuri Avila/File Photo

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered six U.S. agencies to reinstate thousands of recently-hired employees who were fired as part of President Donald Trump's purge of the federal workforce. Alsup ruled that OPM, the human resources department for federal agencies, has no power to order firings, and there was evidence that it had improperly directed the termination of workers at six agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Treasury Department. Read more about the ruling.

Alsup's ruling, however, does not affect Trump's order for all agencies to submit plans for a second wave of mass layoffs. That process could eliminate tens of thousands of federal jobs and the deadline for plans is today.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

Harvard Law School posted the highest first-time bar pass rate in 2024, data from the ABA shows, as exam results trended up nationwide. All but 13 of the 608 Harvard law grads who took the attorney licensing exam for the first time last year were successful, for a pass rate of 97.86%. Find out how other schools fared.

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caitlin.tremblay@thomsonreuters.com

@ctrembz

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