Us Judge In San Francisco Will Hear Request By Unions To Halt Mass Firings Of Probationary Workers

Labor unions are asking a federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday for an emergency injunction blocking the mass firings of probationary federal employees by President Donald Trump's administration , saying officials not only lack the authority to order terminations but that notices to workers were premised on a lie of poor job performance.

On the other side, attorneys for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will argue before U.S. District Judge William Alsup that the office did not create a "mass termination program" as plaintiffs say, but asked agencies to review and determine whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.

"Agencies were responsible for deciding which probationary employees to keep and to terminate," said Charles Ezell, acting director of the personnel office in a declaration filed with the court, adding that a determination of fitness must "take into account the existing needs and interests of government."

"An agency must determine, and OPM has determined, that only the highest-performing probationers in mission-critical areas demonstrate the necessary fitness or qualifications for continued employment," he said.

The complaint filed last week by a coalition of five labor unions and five nonprofit organizations is among multiple lawsuits pushing back on the administration's efforts to vastly shrink the federal workforce, which Trump has called bloated and sloppy. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired and his administration is now aiming at career officials with civil service protection.