DOJ Urges Ninth Circuit to Void Record Fixes for 1,000s of Fired Federal Workers

1 articles · Updated · Courthouse News Service · Aug 28

A Ninth Circuit panel heard the DOJ argue that Judge William Alsup overstepped by ordering agencies to revise the records of thousands of fired probationary federal workers and send notices saying the terminations were not performance-based.
The government said the Civil Service Reform Act routes such disputes to the Federal Labor Relations Authority or Merit Systems Protection Board, and that probationary employees lack the same appeal rights as other federal workers.
Union plaintiffs countered that OPM's alleged government-wide firing directive remains reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act, especially because probationary workers otherwise have no channel to challenge the agency's actions.
Alsup had already found OPM likely lacked authority to direct agencies to fire employees; after the Supreme Court paused reinstatements, he narrowed relief to record corrections rather than returning workers to their jobs.
Judge Morgan Christen pressed the DOJ on whether that reading would bar unions or others with "skin in the game" from seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, underscoring the broader fight over judicial review of federal personnel actions.