CFPB Disployment: Probationary Workers whose Restoration to Office is Locked by the Trump-Motorola-Omega-Era
The class of government workers who have been ordered to be restored are known as “probationaries.” over the weekend, they received letters telling them that they would be restored to their positions. According to court filings, the agency had allegedly terminated about 70 probationary employees in early February after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency showed up. More than 70 to 100 term employees, who were contracted to work for the agency for a period of time, were later fired. The government is expected to file a breakdown of the number of reinstated probationary workers broken down by agency by 7 PM Eastern Time Monday.
The headquarters of the CFPB is closed. Some reinstated employees still need to get their access to the systems and even equipment returned to them in order to do their jobs, but have been told that HR guidance is pending on how that will work.
The union representing employees of the agency is in litigation arguing that the Trump administration is attempting to wind down the agency. During his testimony in federal court last week, he said that the new acting leadership of the agency is more measured and that there is hope. A worker in the team in charge of mass firings testified that there had been no change in plans despite the judge ordering a pause on further firings.
More than 24,000 people nationwide have been affected by the labor involved in the process of complying with court orders as a result of the firings of federal employees.
A teleproximity expert’s view on the current state of the U.S. Treasury and the Department of State, spokeswoman Andrea Hsu
“Singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President’s agenda,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week. If a federal district court judge wants the power of the executive, they can run for president themselves.
The majority of terminated people were canceled by the 18 agencies. A majority of the agencies stated they had placed reinstated employees on paid administrative leave, with no other information on when or even whether they would resume work.
They also warned of “significant confusion” that would ensue should an appeals court overturn the judges’ rulings, making it harder for managers to assign work.
While Bredar’s temporary restraining order defines reinstatement as either bringing employees back to work or putting them on leave, Alsup on Monday drew a sharp distinction between the two, noting that paid administrative leave was not okay for the six agencies his order covers – the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.
Alsup had earlier ordered agencies to provide by March 20 a list of all probationary employees fired, along with an explanation of what had been done to comply with the preliminary injunction.
Do you have information about the ongoing changes in the federal government? NPR’s Andrea Hsu can be contacted through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08.