US merit board judge certifies class of fired Interior Department workers

By Daniel Wiessner

July 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. civil service board judge has ruled that hundreds of U.S. Department of Interior employees who were fired and then reinstated amid the Trump administration's purge of the federal workforce can pursue claims that their terminations were illegal as a group.

Chief Administrative Judge Sara Snyder of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board in a decision on Thursday said the validity of the February mass firing of 1,712 probationary employees at the Interior Department posed a common question that would best be addressed in a class action.

Probationary workers typically have less than one year of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees in new jobs, and they are generally easier to fire than career government workers.

About 20 similar cases involving different federal agencies are pending at the merit board, collectively challenging the Trump administration's mass firings of roughly 25,000 probationary workers in February. Snyder in May certified a class in a case involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

But the fate of the cases is uncertain because the board, which must review administrative judges' decisions before they can be enforced, does not have a quorum that can issue rulings.

Unions and nonprofits also sued in federal court over the mass firings, and many of the probationary workers were reinstated after judges said the terminations were likely illegal. Higher courts paused those decisions pending appeals.

Many workers were returned to full duty while some were placed indefinitely on paid administrative leave. At the Interior Department, nearly 1,000 probationary workers were returned to full duty, 274 remain on leave, and nearly 600 resigned or accepted buyouts to quit, according to Snyder's decision.

The class certified by Snyder does not include 323 workers who accepted buyouts, or an unidentified number who have completed their one-year probationary periods or were fired over their individual conduct or performance.

The White House and the Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The department manages and conserves federal and tribal lands, including national parks, and their natural resources.

Danny Rosenthal, a lawyer for the workers who filed the complaint, said the decision was a critical milestone in the case.

"Practically speaking, this means that workers will have the opportunity to bring their claims forward together, giving more people a real chance to seek justice for their firings," Rosenthal said in a statement.

The plaintiffs in all of the pending cases claim the mass terminations of probationary employees amounted to layoffs that are supposed to be guided by complex civil service rules. They are seeking to have the terminations removed from their personnel files.

Probationary workers have limited legal protections compared with other civil servants, but agencies are still required to explain why they are being fired and give them advance notice of mass layoffs.

President Donald Trump fired Cathy Harris, a Democrat on the three-member merit board in January and the term of another Democratic board member expired in February, leaving the board with a single Republican member and no quorom to decide workers' appeals.

The U.S. Supreme Court in May allowed Harris to be removed while her lawsuit challenging her termination plays out. It could set important precedent on Trump's powers to remove officials from agencies designed to be independent from the White House.

The merit board's resources are likely to be strained by an influx of new cases when a quorum is restored. About 10,800 appeals have been filed with the board since Trump took office in January.

The case is Interior Probationary Employees Class v. Department of the Interior, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, No. DC-0752-25-1550-I-1.

For the class: Danny Rosenthal of James & Hoffman

For the Interior Department: Not available

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