Washington — The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released updated guidance to federal agencies on Tuesday concerning the dismissal of probationary employees. This follows President Trump’s initiative to downsize the government, and it informs department heads that they are not required to undertake any “specific performance-based actions” regarding these employees.
The new memo from Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM, was issued after a federal judge determined last week that the mass firings of probationary workers—who typically have been employed for less than a year—were likely illegal.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup concluded that “OPM did not possess the authority to instruct the termination of employees, whether probationary or otherwise, in any federal agency.”
This latest guidance amends a January 20 memo from Ezell, which mandated agencies to identify all employees still in their probationary periods and submit a report detailing these workers. The earlier memo instructed department heads to “promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency.”
However, the revised memo includes a new clause stating that “with this memorandum, OPM is not directing agencies to implement any specific performance-related actions with respect to probationary employees. Agencies hold ultimate authority and accountability for such personnel decisions.”
OPM indicated it “sought to clarify in light of a recent court ruling and some public misconceptions. It has always been the agencies’ decision whether to take performance-based actions against probationary employees.”
Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), remarked that OPM’s latest directive “is a clear acknowledgment that it unlawfully instructed federal agencies to carry out mass terminations of probationary employees.”
“Every agency should promptly rescind these illegal terminations and rehire all individuals who were wrongfully fired,” Kelley stated regarding the memo.
The AFGE is one of the labor unions that filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its firings of tens of thousands of federal workers. According to the unions, there are around 200,000 probationary workers across the federal government. The federal workforce totals more than 2.4 million individuals, not counting military personnel and postal workers.
Following Ezell’s directive to agency heads to identify probationary employees, Mr. Trump issued an executive order mandating agency heads to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.”
The mass firings marked a significant step taken by Mr. Trump in his campaign to reduce the size of the federal government. The president established the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to spearhead this initiative, with staff deployed across various federal agencies. OPM also provided federal employees the option to participate in a deferred resignation program, allowing them to resign while retaining full pay and benefits until September 30.
The White House reported that approximately 75,000 employees accepted the offer to exit their government positions, significantly fewer than the 200,000 anticipated to accept the buyout.
The Trump administration has also focused its cost-cutting efforts on particular agencies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development. However, these reforms are currently facing challenges in federal court.
