Last Friday, Brown Goldstein & Levy—representing probationary and trial period employees formerly employed by the Small Business Administration (SBA)—filed a class appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal termination of a large swath of the agency’s workforce. Terminated employees performed functions that are critical to fulfilling the agency’s core mission of helping small businesses succeed.
The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that serves as the guardian of federal merit systems.
On February 7, 2025, the SBA sent termination notices to employees across the United States. Three days later, the agency rescinded the terminations, claiming they had been sent in error. Then the very next day, the agency re-fired the employees, citing the employees’ probationary status as the reason. The MSPB appeal alleges that these mass firings were invalid because they operated as a Reduction in Force (RIF) without complying with any of the requirements for a federal government RIF. The appeal demands reinstatement and back pay for the illegally fired employees.
The three named appellants, Christopher Wicker, Katherine Abrikian, and Bilae Harding, were employed in positions across the agency. They worked in offices across the country. Appellants are represented by Eve Hill and Anisha Queen of Brown Goldstein & Levy.
“The SBA’s actions weren’t just unfair—they were illegal,” said Christopher Wicker. “SBA employees, including military veterans like me, were hired to serve the public and support small businesses, only to be fired in a chaotic and baseless process. This case isn’t just about getting our jobs back—it’s about holding the government accountable and ensuring that no future workforce is treated this way.”
“There are rules governing when and how federal government employees can be fired,” said Anisha Queen of Brown Goldstein & Levy. “Federal employees who have dedicated themselves to public service deserve to have those rules followed.”
A group of attorneys, including Gilbert Employment Law, P.C., James & Hoffman, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC, are working together to file similar class action appeals on behalf of fired probationary employees at agencies across the federal government.
About Eve Hill
Eve Hill is one of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, known especially for her work with clients with disabilities and LGBTQ+ clients. She has been recognized by Law360 as one of just 12 “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” for 2023, as well as by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2022, 2023, and 2024). Her wide-ranging experience complements Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s decades of dedication to high-impact disability rights cases and its advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families. Eve also leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which works with organizations to promote the education, engagement, and employment of people with disabilities. Learn more about Eve here.
About Anisha Queen
Anisha Queen joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy in January 2019. Since joining the firm, she has represented clients in a wide array of civil matters. She has experience representing clients in cases involving employment law, housing discrimination, disability rights, civil rights, wrongful convictions, Title IX, and contract disputes. Increasingly, Anisha’s caseload involves handling employment matters, including but not limited to handling cases involving allegations of employment discrimination and negotiating employment and severance agreements (as well as other aspects of the employer-employee relationship). Learn more about Anisha here.
About Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP
Founded in 1982, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
