Ruling in a lawsuit filed by AFGE and other allies, Judge William Alsup from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on September 12 , 2025 said OPM exceeded its authority by instructing agencies to fire employees based on fabricated performance issues.
AFGE and allies filed the lawsuit in February following OPM’s directive ordering the mass termination of probationary employees at six agencies: the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Energy, Defense, and Treasury departments. Although agencies aren’t required to reinstate the terminated workers, the judge ordered agencies to send letters to affected employees stating that they were not fired for poor performance or misconduct and to update employees’ personnel files accordingly as well.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement in response to the ruling:
“This is another significant victory for federal employees and for all Americans. Judge Alsup’s decision makes clear that thousands of probationary workers were wrongfully fired, exposes the sham record the government relied upon, and requires the government to tell the wrongly terminated employees that OPM’s reasoning for firing them was false. AFGE, AFSCME and all our partners in this case are proud to lead this fight to preserve our non-partisan civil service and to hold this administration accountable for its unprecedented targeting of American workers,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
