An agency head reinstated by a federal judge after being fired by President Donald Trump voiced public opposition Monday to the administration’s terminations of federal employees.
Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, said firing probationary employees without an individual cause “appears contrary to a reasonable reading of the law, particularly the provisions establishing rules for reductions in force.”
“Since the Civil Service Reform Act was passed in 1978, the merit system principles have guided how federal government agencies hire, manage, and, if necessary, remove federal employees,” Dellinger wrote in a statement. “These principles establish that all federal employees, including those in a probationary status, should be evaluated based on individual performance.”
Dellinger filed requests with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to pause terminations for six probationary employees and indicated he would look for ways to help other employees in the same position.
Backed by the left-wing organization Democracy Forward, federal employees facing termination filed a complaint with Dellinger on Feb. 14.
“We are honored to represent federal employees in this matter and are pleased about this development,” Democracy Forward CEO Skye Perryman wrote in a statement. “We will continue to urge OSC and the MSPB to follow the law, protect federal workers, investigate misconduct, and uphold the independence and integrity of our civil service. We will use all legal tools to defend the very people who serve the American people.”
Dellinger himself sued after Trump fired him Feb. 7, prompting a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order that reinstated him to the position.
The Supreme Court passed Friday on granting the Trump administration’s request to lift the order, letting it remain until Feb. 26 when it is set to expire. The administration argued the order was an “unprecedented assault on the separation of powers.”
The district court will hold a hearing on the issue on Wednesday.
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