BALTIMORE, MD—A coalition of 20 attorneys general, led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, has secured a preliminary injunction (PDF) blocking the mass firing of federal probationary employees across the United States. The injunction, issued in the lawsuit Maryland et al. v. USDA filed in the United States District Court for Maryland, orders 20 federal agencies to reinstate unlawfully terminated employees and adhere to lawful procedures in future workforce reductions.
The lawsuit, filed on March 6, 2025, alleges that the Trump Administration’s dismissal of tens of thousands of probationary employees was an unlawful attempt to shrink the federal workforce. The attorneys general argue that the mass layoffs caused significant hardship for the affected employees and their families, and threatened the ability of states to provide unemployment assistance. The preliminary injunction extends a temporary restraining order (PDF) issued on March 14, 2025, which was set to expire on April 1st. This ruling protects Maryland jobs and resources during ongoing litigation.
“When the Trump Administration fired tens of thousands of federal probationary employees, they claimed it was due to poor work performance. We know better,” said Attorney General Brown in a statement. “This was a coordinated effort to eliminate the federal workforce – even if it meant breaking the law.”
This preliminary injunction applies to the following federal agencies: Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, Department of Treasury, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Education, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Interior, Small Business Administration, Department of Labor, and United States Agency for International Development.
The coalition of attorneys general includes those from Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.
Photo via Twitter
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