On March 6, 2025, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown co-led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in federal court in Maryland against numerous federal agencies for conducting illegal mass layoffs of federal probationary employees.

These mass firings will cause irreparable burdens and expenses to the states, both to support recently unemployed workers, and to review and adjudicate claims of unemployment assistance. Moreover, the unlawful layoffs will harm state finances and undermine vital state-federal partnerships.

Across numerous agencies, tens of thousands of probationary workers were summarily and indiscriminately fired. “Probationary” status is given both to new employees and to employees who may have years of experience in an agency but were promoted to new roles, and the period generally lasts two full years. Not only did these mass terminations harm the employees and their families, but they also harmed the plaintiff states by forcing them to provide emergency support to the harmed workers, including job placement and job training services and adjudicating unemployment claims. Federal statute only allows probationary employees to be fired for cause. The coalition argued that the administration violated federal law and regulations by terminating employment en masse without cause.

On April 1, 2025, the coalition secured a preliminary injunction halting the firings and reinstating affected employees.

On April 3, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals consolidated this case with other reduction-in-force cases. On April 9, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the defendant motion for stay pending appeal, allowing the indiscriminate firings to proceed.

Donald Trump violated the law, causing harm to the state of Minnesota and its people when he attempted his chaotic firing spree targeting federal probationary employees. I hope this injunction begins to mend the harms caused by the Trump Administration’s mass firings of probationary employees. Once again, in the strongest possible terms, I urge Donald Trump and his administration to act within the law. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to again take this administration to court to protect Minnesotans and defend the rule of law. Attorney General Keith Ellison