A major breakthrough was seen when the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined a lower court’s order requiring the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal workers whom President Donald Trump’s administration had fired.
The short, unsigned order from the Court found that the nine non-profit organisations behind the lawsuit had no right to file the case. The injunction first issued by Judge William Alsup on March 13 required six federal agencies — Defense, Veterans Affairs and Treasury among them — to reinstate terminated probationary employees until the larger legal issues were resolved.
But the Supreme Court later narrowed the ruling so that it didn’t apply to other lawsuits to be filed by other plaintiffs, states and individuals, however, A separate federal order in Baltimore is still in effect ordering reinstatement at 18 agencies within 19 Democratic-led states and Washington D.C. 
Judge Alsup had harshly taken apart the government’s explanation for the mass firings, labeling the claim of poor performance as a “lie.” Trump, accompanied by advisor Elon Musk, has attempted to severely reduce the size of the federal government as a part of an overall government restructuring.
The Justice Department claimed Alsup’s order crossed constitutional lines by giving the judiciary too great a say in executive personnel matters. The administration also expressed worry about similar judicial over-stepping blocking its policy agenda since Trump came back in January.
While not the last word, the blocked injunction represents a significant legal skirmish in the fight over the future of federal employment rights.
