(Image Credit: IMAGN) Protesters attends a rally in support of federal workers who have been terminated on Friday, March 7, 2025 at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center at 5000 W. National Ave. in Milwaukee.
Washington D.C. – The Trump administration is taking steps to reinstate over 24,000 probationary workers who were dismissed as part of its efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, according to court documents filed Monday. This move comes after two federal judges issued rulings last week, temporarily ordering the reinstatement of thousands of workers who had lost their jobs.
Probationary employees, who typically hold their positions for less than two years and do not have full civil service protections, were among the hardest hit by mass layoffs under the administration. The documents filed by 18 federal departments and agencies provide the first full accounting of how many workers were affected by the cuts. These declarations detail the efforts to comply with the court’s orders to rehire the fired workers.
However, many of the workers being reinstated will not immediately return to their jobs. Instead, they will be placed on administrative leave. Agencies such as the Education Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—both of which have faced significant budget cuts and efforts to reduce their size—are among those affected by the reinstate-and-leave approach. Several officials explained that placing workers back into “full duty status” would place an undue burden on their departments, requiring new onboarding, additional training, and the completion of necessary paperwork, along with security clearances and equipment.
Additionally, officials warned that the reinstatements may be short-lived, as an appellate ruling could reverse the court’s decision at any time. “Employees could be subjected to multiple changes in their employment status in a matter of weeks,” one filing stated.
One such employee, Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, a probationary worker with the Federal Aviation Administration, was reinstated Tuesday after the Transportation Department rescinded his termination. Spitzer-Stadtlander was informed via email that he would be receiving back pay in compliance with the court’s ruling. Meanwhile, several workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been placed on administrative leave, though three of the CDC workers told NBC News that they had not yet been reinstated.
“I want my job back,” said Sarah Boim, a former communications specialist at the CDC, during an interview with MSNBC. Boim expressed frustration at the uncertainty of the situation but emphasized her commitment to the work she was doing, especially in an era of public health challenges. Despite the chaos, she remains hopeful that her role could make a difference in the lives of Americans.
However, the administrative leave arrangement has drawn criticism from the courts. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, presiding over a separate case, questioned the legality of putting rehired employees on leave. He argued that doing so would not fulfill the purpose of the preliminary injunction, which aims to restore services lost due to the firings. Alsup instructed the government to clarify the extent to which rehired probationary employees are being placed on leave by noon on Tuesday.
The firings of probationary employees began last month, after agency leaders received guidance from the Office of Personnel Management to reduce staff. As legal battles unfold, the future of thousands of federal employees remains uncertain, with many facing the possibility of multiple job status changes in a short span of time.
