Laid off federal employees waiting to hear if they will be rehired

A federal court in California ordered federal agencies to rehire thousands of employees fired as part of the Trump administration’s effort to shrink the federal workforce, a decision that should impact laid-off federal employees in New Mexico.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Treasury, Energy and Veterans Affairs departments to give fired probationary employees their jobs back within the next six days, calling the terminations unlawful. Many probationary employees were fired with similar letters that alleged the terminations were because of workplace performance. The lawsuit was brought by labor unions. Laid-off federal workers in New Mexico said they have not received any official communications yet about coming back to work but were heartened by the news.

“I definitely would go back,” said former Fish and Wildlife biologist Robert Prather, who lives in Albuquerque. “I think even beyond me, there’s people who will probably return just to make the record right. Having this on our record is a total stain, and we don’t deserve to have such a thing on our record. Ultimately, that’s one of the biggest reasons I would want to return, even if I knew I was going to be terminated in a (reduction in force).”

Getting rehired would probably include back pay, and extend terminated employees’ health insurance, Prather said. He has yet to hear from his agency, but thinks he is likely included in the order.

Former U.S. Forest Service biologist Jordan Martinez, who worked in the Carson National Forest, is also awaiting official communication that she will be rehired. Martinez expects to be rehired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture not simply because of Thursday’s court decision, but also because of a recent U.S. Merit Board decision ordering the USDA to rehire employees for at least 45 days who were fired for alleged performance issues with the same form letter.

“I’m really concerned that we might get fired again after the 45 days,” Martinez said. “I do understand there’s more lawsuits coming, so I’m really anxious to see what happens after those. I’m hoping for the best, but it’s very hard to keep our hopes up. It seems like every day we get bad news.”

The White House will likely appeal the order, said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., and the situation is still chaotic.

“It’s been very clear since day one that the activities that Elon Musk and (the Department of Government Efficiency) have been undertaking through (the Office of Personnel Management) and through the various entities that DOGE is operating are not only reckless and without a plan, but are illegal,” Stansbury said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt questioned the judge’s authority to issue the order in a statement posted on social media, continuing the Trump administration’s pattern of questioning the authority of the legislative and judicial branches of government and trying to consolidate more power under the executive branch.

“A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch,” the statement reads, and the administration will “immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”