Attorney General Ford Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Trump Administration for Mass Firings of Federal Probationary Employees

Carson City, NV — Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he and a coalition of 20 attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction in Maryland et al. v. USDA, a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for Maryland suing numerous federal agencies for the unlawful mass firing of federal probationary employees.

 
The preliminary injunction protects federal probationary employees who live or work in the plaintiff states and orders 20 federal agencies to reinstate unlawfully terminated probationary employees while the court case continues. The preliminary injunction also requires those agencies to follow lawful procedures in conducting any future reductions in force.

 
“The Trump administration violated the law when it mass fired federal probationary employees, and it did so with no regard for its effect on Nevada and its hardworking civil servants,” said AG Ford. “This decision ensures that these Nevadans are protected and puts a stop to these illegal actions while we continue this legal fight — a fight we are confident we will win. I will continue to defend the rule of law and hold the Trump administration accountable.”

On March 6, 2025, AG Ford joined the coalition in suing numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Nevada and the other plaintiff states. The lawsuit sought immediate relief, and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 14, 2025, for 18 federal agencies. The court later extended that order by five days such that it was set to expire on April 1, which would have resulted in devastating impacts on Nevada and the plaintiff states, as well as their probationary employees.

 
The preliminary injunction extends the court’s earlier order requiring the federal agencies to stop the unlawful mass firings and to give those employees their jobs back while the attorneys general litigate the case against the agencies. The preliminary injunction ensures that for the remainder of the case, the following federal agencies cannot continue their unlawful conduct: the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Commerce; the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Defense; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Education; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Department of Energy; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the Department of Homeland Security; the General Services Administration; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Office of Personnel Management; the Department of the Interior; the Small Business Administration; the Department of Labor; and the United States Agency for International Development.

 
AG Ford was joined in this lawsuit by the lead state attorney general, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, as well as the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. 

 

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