On February 24, 2025, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal agency tasked with protecting government whistleblowers and policing prohibited personnel practices, made a significant move against the Trump administration’s sweeping layoffs of federal workers. The OSC declared that the mass firing of probationary employees, those typically in their first one or two years of service, appears to be unlawful, spotlighting a contentious effort led by the administration and Elon Musk’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash the federal workforce.
The OSC’s findings center on the termination of six probationary employees across various agencies, but the implications could ripple out to the tens of thousands dismissed in recent weeks. According to the agency, these firings violate federal personnel laws, which mandate that probationary employees can only be terminated for individualized reasons tied to poor performance or misconduct. Instead, the OSC argues, the administration has used probationary status as a loophole to execute what amounts to a reduction in force (RIF), a process requiring specific legal procedures – including 60 days’ notice – that were not followed. Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger emphasized that firing workers without cause “appears contrary to a reasonable reading of the law,” particularly citing a case where a Department of Energy employee with a stellar performance review was let go.
This ruling comes amid a broader purge that has seen over 30,000 federal workers, many probationary, lose their jobs since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, IRS, and Pentagon have been hit hard, with dismissals often justified by vague claims of “performance issues” despite evidence of satisfactory work. Critics, including unions and watchdog groups like Democracy Forward, call it an unprecedented attack on the civil service, accusing the administration of bypassing merit-based principles to shrink government indiscriminately.
The OSC has petitioned the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to pause these six terminations and reinstate the affected workers while it investigates further. Though currently limited in scope, the agency is exploring ways to extend relief to more of the fired probationary employees. Legal battles are intensifying, with unions filing lawsuits alleging systemic misuse of probationary periods. The situation remains fluid, but the OSC’s stance marks a pivotal challenge to the administration’s aggressive downsizing strategy, raising questions about its legality and long-term impact on federal operations.
