Class actions allege that the mass terminations of probationary employees violated workers’ rights under federal law. The class action filings are believed to be the first on behalf of thousands of probationary employees fired in February.
On March 7, federal employees announced the filing of class action appeals against multiple federal agencies, alleging that the Trump Administration violated their rights under federal employment regulations. The proposed classes include federal employees who were terminated in recent weeks on the basis that they were in a probationary or trial period.
“Despite what his actions say, the President cannot violate rules governing when and how federal government employees can be fired with impunity,” said Anisha Queen, partner at Brown Goldstein & Levy. “Federal workers who have dedicated themselves to public service deserve to have those rules followed, and we are committed to pursuing the justice they are owed.”
Leading employment and civil rights attorneys representing federal workers, including Brown Goldstein & Levy partners Eve Hill and Anisha Queen, say that the recent purge violated at least a dozen laws, regulations, and constitutional protections. The workers argue that the mass terminations constituted a constructive reduction in force (RIF), which requires that government agencies consider an employee’s tenure, performance and veteran status when making termination decisions. Regulations also require 60 days advance notice of termination in a RIF. Instead, public servants were abruptly terminated, with total disregard for these key protections.
The unprecedented purge of the civil service has left workers, agencies and the public reeling. Thousands of federal employees were fired without cause, notice or severance. Agencies are struggling to function without the staffing needed to provide vital services to the American people.
“It feels like the rug has been pulled out from under us,” said Allison Keating, a New Hampshire native and single mother of two, who was fired last month after a 24-year career in public service. “You spend your whole life doing the right things to build your experience and career: go to college, volunteer, work hard, two jobs, night school. And then suddenly everything you’ve worked for your whole life for is gone. I am worried about how to pay my mortgage and support my two daughters.” Keating worked for US Fish and Wildlife, where she helped implement Pittman-Robertson funded wildlife management, research and conservation across 13 states.
The appeals were filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent agency that oversees and protects the rights of federal employees.
“This case is about holding the government accountable to its own rules,” said Christopher Bonk, partner at Gilbert Employment Law. “By circumventing RIF procedures, the administration undermined fundamental job protections for federal workers and set a dangerous precedent that cannot go unchallenged. The tens of thousands of probationary workers who were terminated have rights, and we look forward to ensuring they have their day in court.”
The class action filings come on the heels of an MSPB ruling that temporarily reinstated six probationary employees who had also alleged that their terminations constituted a RIF, and that the government had failed to adhere to RIF procedures mandated by law.
“These workers were terminated without the protections afforded them under the law, and we will ensure that their voices are heard,” said Daniel Rosenthal, partner at James & Hoffman. “Probationary employees have rights in a reduction in force – rights that federal agencies violated in carrying out these mass terminations.”
Probationary federal workers who were terminated can find more information on appeals here.
“I’ve dedicated my life to serving this country — on the battlefield and in the public sector. Being laid off without any notice or cause turned my life upside down,” said Jammie Mosser, a veteran and father of two who worked at the Veterans Affairs office in his home state of Michigan. “But this isn’t just about the harm to federal employees and their families. These layoffs will devastate the communities who depend on government services, like the millions of veterans who rely on the VA when they return home from duty.”
The employees are represented by a group of leading employment and civil rights law firms Brown Goldstein & Levy, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Gilbert Employment Law and James & Hoffman.
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
Founded in 1982, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. 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.
