Young Workers Get a Chance to Stay

A judge in San Francisco made a significant ruling. He stopped the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from telling other federal agencies to fire their new employees. This decision could mean that some agencies might have to pause their plans to let go of many new workers right away. The judge, William Alsup, made it clear that OPM doesn't have the power to tell other agencies what to do. He said OPM can only manage its own employees, not those of other agencies. This ruling affects six major agencies: the National Park Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Science Foundation, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Defense. The judge didn't directly tell other agencies to stop firing new workers. But he made sure lawyers spread the word about his decision. He wanted to prevent new workers from losing their jobs because agencies didn't know about the ruling. He referred to these new workers as the "lifeblood" of the agencies. The judge plans to write a more detailed explanation later. But he wanted to make his decision public right away. This is because the Department of Defense was planning to fire thousands of new workers the next day. The judge said the DoD was relying on OPM memos that he ruled were illegal. The government's lawyers argued that the OPM memos were just "guidance, " not orders. They said agencies decided on their own to fire new workers. But the judge didn't buy this. He found it unusual for so many agencies to suddenly fire so many workers all at once. He believes they were following orders from OPM. This decision isn't a total win for the people who sued. The judge said he can't stop the firings for all federal unions or employees. He said they have to challenge their firings in other places. But he did rule in favor of other groups who said they were hurt by the mass firings. These include the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Vote Vets Action Fund, and Main Street Alliance. The judge said he can't directly order other agencies to stop firing new workers. But he hopes they will do the right thing and follow his decision. He said he doesn't want these young workers to be hurt by agencies that don't know about his ruling. The judge said the OPM memos were "ultra vires, " which means outside of OPM's legal authority. He said he couldn't directly order other agencies to stop firing new workers. But he hopes they will follow his decision. He said he doesn't want these young workers to be hurt by agencies that don't know about his ruling.