In a dramatic legal turn, a federal judge in San Francisco has greenlit a lawsuit brought by public-sector unions against the mass purging of federal workers under Donald Trump — a reversal that could have sweeping implications for how government employees challenge political firings.
The heart of the case? Roughly 25,000 probationary federal employees were shown the door after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), under Trump’s direction, told agencies to clear house. Most of those workers had just started their roles, making them especially vulnerable due to limited job protections.
Until now, federal employees were expected to plead their case before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). But U.S. District Judge William Alsup now says that’s not enough.
In his ruling, Alsup argued that those agencies are neither designed nor equipped to handle the constitutional claims at the center of this case — particularly when those very agencies have been caught in political crossfire. With Trump actively seeking to remove Democratic appointees from these oversight boards and having fired the head of the Office of Special Counsel, Alsup saw no guarantee of a fair process.
“The government pretends that the constitutional claims are embedded in issues within the expertise of the MSPB and FLRA,” Alsup wrote. “But defendants can’t point to a single relevant fact or issue that supports this.”
This isn’t the first time Alsup has weighed in. Earlier this month, he ordered six federal agencies to reinstate around 17,000 of the dismissed workers while the broader case plays out. That ruling marked a rare judicial intervention into executive personnel decisions and put Alsup at odds with three other federal judges who previously shut down similar union-led lawsuits.
The case was filed by a coalition of four unions alongside nonprofit groups and the state of Washington. Now, with the green light to sue, the unions could press the courts to more thoroughly examine whether the Trump administration crossed constitutional lines by executing mass firings without proper oversight or due process.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, appears to be navigating carefully — with the Justice Department yet to issue a public response. The Trump camp, however, wasted no time appealing Alsup’s latest decision to the Supreme Court, seeking to freeze his order while higher courts weigh in.
Next stop: an April 9 hearing where Alsup will consider whether the relief he granted should be expanded, limited, or recalibrated. All eyes will be on that session — not just from within the federal workforce, but from legal observers watching whether this challenge will become a larger referendum on political control of the civil service.
