March 6, 2025
Class actions allege that the mass terminations of probationary employees violated workers’ rights under federal law
The class action filings are believed to be the first on behalf of thousands of probationary employees fired in February
Washington, D.C. – Federal employees announced today the filing of class action appeals against multiple federal agencies, alleging their rights have been violated under federal law. The proposed classes include federal employees who were terminated in recent weeks on the basis that they were in a probationary or trial period.
Leading employment and civil rights attorneys representing federal workers say that the recent purge violated at least a dozen laws, regulations, and constitutional protections. The workers argue that the mass terminations constituted a constructive reduction in force (RIF), which requires that government agencies consider an employee’s tenure, performance, and veteran status when making termination decisions. Regulations also require 60 days advance notice of termination in a RIF. Instead, public servants were abruptly terminated, with total disregard for these key protections.
The unprecedented purge of the civil service has left workers, agencies, and the public reeling. Thousands of federal employees were fired without cause, notice or severance. Agencies are struggling to function without the staffing needed to provide vital services to the American people.
“It feels like the rug has been pulled out from under us,” said Allison Keating, a New Hampshire native and single mother of two, who was fired last month after a 24-year career in public service. “You spend your whole life doing the right things to build your experience and career: go to college, volunteer, work hard, two jobs, night school. And then suddenly everything you’ve worked your whole life for is gone. I am worried about how to pay my mortgage and support my two daughters.” Keating worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, where she helped implement Pittman-Robertson funded wildlife management, research and conservation across 13 states.
The appeals were filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent agency that oversees and protects the rights of federal employees.
“I’ve dedicated my life to serving this country — on the battlefield and in the public sector. Being laid off without any notice or cause turned my life upside down,” said Jammie Mosser, a veteran and father of two who worked at the Veterans Affairs office in his home state of Michigan. “But this isn’t just about the harm to federal employees and their families. These layoffs will devastate the communities that depend on government services, like the millions of veterans who rely on the VA when they return home from duty.”
The employees are represented by a group of leading employment and civil rights law firms — Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Brown Goldstein Levy, Gilbert Employment Law, and James & Hoffman.
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About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, with over 100 attorneys across eight offices, champions the causes of real people—workers, consumers, small business owners, investors, and whistleblowers—working to deliver corporate reforms and fair markets for the common good. It has litigated landmark civil rights and employment disputes before the highest courts in the nation and continues to actively shape civil rights and employment law in the United States.
About Brown Goldstein Levy
For almost four decades, Brown, Goldstein & Levy has been recognized as Maryland’s leading private law firm for high impact, public interest cases. Our attorneys have handled these challenges in the Supreme Court and most of the federal appellate circuits, as well as in state courts throughout Maryland and around the country. The attorneys at Brown, Goldstein & Levy devise creative and practical solutions to workplace issues. And when negotiated solutions are not possible, we provide effective and tenacious representation. Whether you are a top executive or an hourly wage worker, we can help you understand your rights at work, negotiate fair deals, and litigate aggressively when your rights have been violated. Our lawyers provide counseling and advice about employee rights under state and federal employment laws. We help executives negotiate contract and severance terms, file large wage and hour cases to protect employees’ rights to overtime and equal pay, and advocate for employees in whistleblower, discrimination, contract, non-competition, and compensation matters.
About Gilbert Employment Law, P.C.
Gilbert Employment Law, P.C., is the worker’s voice in litigation involving employee rights violations. Gilbert’s attorneys are highly skilled in representing federal employees before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and other federal administrative agencies. Gilbert Employment Law, P.C., has also represented employees in county and state courts, as well as U.S. District and Appeals Courts.
About James & Hoffman
James & Hoffman is a law firm that represents workers and labor unions across the country, advancing their interests in critical matters arising in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and arbitrations. The firm is a national leader in representation of federal government employees. It is based in Washington, D.C.