U.S. District Judge William Alsup instructed the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees. The ruling is

A California federal judge said that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive dismantling of the federal workforce.