Fired CISA probationary employees to be reinstated after U.S. judge's order last week
Source: CBS News
March 17, 2025 / 1:56 PM EDT
More than 130 probationary employees fired last month from the nation's top cyber defense agency will be reinstated Monday, after the Trump administration scrambled to comply with a sweeping court order issued last week. The employees — all of whom were hired or promoted within the past three years — won't immediately return to the office, but instead will be placed on paid administrative leave.
Maryland U.S. District Judge James Bredar on Thursday demanded the Trump administration reinstate the probationary employees it initially terminated if they were part of the mass firing, though he did not ban the government from lawfully terminating probationary employees under a reduction in force or for cause.
In an email sent Sunday night and obtained by CBS News, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, informed the workers that their employment has been restored at the pay rate they had before they were terminated. "Upon reinstatement, your pay and benefits will restart, and all requirements of federal employment will be applicable including your ethical obligations," the email read. "If you do not wish to be reinstated, please respond with a written statement declining to be reinstated as quickly as possible. Nothing in this process implicates your ability to voluntarily resign."
Judge Bredar ordered probationary employees at 18 federal agencies to be reinstated by March 17, either to their jobs or to be placed on administrative leave. The temporary restraining order directed the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, General Services Administration, Small Business Administration and U.S. Agency for International Development to rejoin fired federal workers to the payroll.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fired-cisa-probationary-employees-reinstated/
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