Mass Removal of Probationary Federal Employees

The administration conducted a mass removal of probationary employees without individualized cause. Some employees were terminated without notice as to the reason for the termination. In some cases, a federal judge found that the agencies falsely alleged poor performance. Multiple news reports reported the same — as described in a Reuters' article titled "Federal workers were fired 'for performance.' Their records say otherwise." Federal News Network reported: "The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found . . . that virtually all of the 7,315 probationary employees that the IRS fired were either rated as high performers on their performance reviews — or otherwise had no performance ratings on record." Terminated employees reported difficulties for some employees seeking unemployment benefits. Some, including this white paper from Protect Democracy, argued that the mass removal was an unlawful reduction in force (RIF) because the administration did not follow RIF procedures. As a Dear Civil Servant newsletter explained, a federal judge ruled that the Office of Personnel Management acted illegally, both by exceeding its power and instructing agencies to lie about why they were firing probationary employees. There are indicia that the mass firing was done hastily, with instances of employees being fired, rehired and fired again, and at least one instance of an agency firing employees with a form letter that failed to include their names in the spaces provided.