Judge Admits Mistake, Offers Hope To Federal Workers Fired by Trump

A federal judge has admitted that he made a mistake in refusing to hear a case taken by thousands of federal workers fired by President Donald Trump.

Newsweek sought email comment on Tuesday from AFL-CIO and the office of Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Why It Matters

Trump, through the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] and its director, Elon Musk, has fired thousands of federal workers who were serving out their probationary period before being hired full time. Their unions are now suing to have the employees reinstated.

By accepting the unions' case, Northern District of California Judge William Alsup has given the federal employees a much-better chance of winning back their jobs. The case also plays into a wider debate about whether Trump is overstepping his authority by slashing the federal workforce since he came to office in January.

What To Know

In an opinion issued on March 24, Alsup conceded that he was wrong not to accept the federal workers' case, which has been brought by the American Federation of Government Employees; The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); and other unions.

Alsup has previously ruled that the case should be taken before a merit board within the federal government system or the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

DOGE announced on its website that it has achieved $55 billion in federal savings since Trump's inauguration, attributing these savings to contract cancellations, workforce reductions and asset sales—though the published receipts add up to roughly $16.5 billion. The agency noted discrepancies in the totals and committed to regularly updating the site with new data.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly condemned Alsup in a statement on March 14 concerning a similar case. She said the judge's actions were unconstitutional.

Mistaken Ruling

Alsup said: "Early on, I followed three recent decisions in other district courts holding that claims brought by public-sector unions concerning federal employee terminations had to be channeled through the Merit Systems Protection Board and/or the Federal Labor Relations Authority and therefore the district court had no subject-matter jurisdiction over those claims.

"After further briefing, however, this order holds that the district court does have subject-matter jurisdiction over these claims by public-sector unions and that my earlier ruling to the contrary was mistaken," he wrote.

Had the case gone before the merit board or the Federal Labor Relations Authority, it would have been much easier for Trump to appoint the right people in place to defeat the employees' claim.

By accepting the case before a federal court, Alsup has given a major boost to the employees' claim.

Unions Suffered Injury

Alsup accepted the unions' claims that their organizations would be injured if it was found that the workers were wrongly terminated.

"How are they injured? Their members' unlawful terminations cause the public-sector unions to lose dues, divert or raise resources to help those terminated, and suffer legal wrongs," he wrote.

Trump Lawyers 'Vague Out'

Alsup also criticized Trump administration lawyers for failing to address the past case law.

"When reckoning with this case law, defendants vague out: They do not attempt to show how the facts of this case compare with the first string of cases, instead merely saying that plaintiffs never 'distinguish the facts of their case'" from those of previous cases, he wrote.

What People Are Saying

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly condemned Alsup in a statement on March 14, when he ruled against the Trump administration in a related case involving thousands of fired federal workers.

"A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch. The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch—singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President's agenda," her statement read.

What Happens Next

Alsup will now accept the case. From his actions in a related case involving fired federal workers, it is likely that he will impose a temporary restraining order on the firing of the probation workers while he considers the merits of the case.