Office of Special Counsel has recommended halting termination of probationary federal workers

• In response to a complaint filed by Democracy Forward and Alden Law Group, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has recommended halting termination of probationary federal workers and has reason to believe the Trump administration's mass firings are unlawful.
• OSC requests a stay if: (1) OSC has reasonable grounds to believe that a personnel action that was taken or will be taken constitutes a prohibited personnel practice; and (2) absent a stay, the employee will be subjected to immediate and substantial harm, such as removal, suspension for more than 14 days, or geographic reassignment.
• The Merit Systems Protection Board has the authority, consistent with precedent and the law, to stay unlawful firings, reinstate terminated federal workers, and investigate the Trump administration's actions.
• The decision now rests with the Merit Systems Protection Board, which has the authority and the precedent to enter the recommended halting of terminations. In the absence of action to enter an order halting the terminations or a decision to deny it, the stay requested by the Office of Special Counsel will automatically take effect on February 27.
• This impacts civil servants across multiple federal agencies who were terminated by the Trump administration "with no regard for the performance or conduct" but instead because of their probationary status due to their short tenure with the federal government.
• While OSC's stay request covers the 6 representative employees specifically named in the February 14 complaint, the complaint requests that OSC seek relief on behalf of all similarly situated probationary employees.
• OSC will continue investigating the matter to determine illegality. At the end of the investigation, if the OSC determines that one or more prohibited personnel practices occurred, it can order corrective action and ask the Merit Systems Protection Board to seek discipline against the agency officials responsible for committing the prohibited personnel practices.
  

Timeline of action to date

• February 12-14: Trump Administration begins Round 1 of mass terminations of employees in their first or second year of service ("probationary" and "trial period" employees).
• February 14: Democracy Forward and the Alden Law Group filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel alleging that the mass terminations constitute multiple prohibited personnel practices and are therefore illegal. The complaint was filed on behalf of 6 individuals and all similarly situated employees. We also asked OSC to pursue a stay from the Merit Systems Protection Board of the mass terminations while it investigates the allegations in the complaint. Agencies included in this complaint include GSA, HUD, VA, SBA, CFPB, Forest Service, Education, Energy, and OPM.
• Week of February 17: The Trump Administration proceeds with more mass terminations.
• February 21: Acting on our complaint, OSC petitions the Merit Systems Protection Board to enter a stay pending the completion of its further investigation into the alleged prohibited personnel practices. OSC sought the stay on behalf of the 6 employee representatives included in the initial complaint.
• February 22: Democracy Forward and the Alden Group submitted a supplement to our initial complaint adding new representative employees and agencies. The complaint now covers 19 total departments and agencies and many more specific agency sub-components. The agencies included in this complaint include: AmeriCorps, DHS, Interior, EPA, Export-Import Bank, FMCS, GSA, HHS, IMLS, IRS, NARA, NSF, Surface Transportation Board.
• February 27: The stay automatically takes effect, unless the MSPB acts prior to this date.

The Roles of OSC and the MSPB

• The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is charged with investigating prohibited personnel practices. Prohibited personnel practices are laid out in 5 USC 2302(b).
• Upon receiving a complaint alleging one or more prohibited personnel practices, OSC can open an investigation. It may also request that the MSPB issue a stay of the personnel actions that are the subject of the complaint for up to 45 days while the investigation is completed. The MSPB has 3 business days to act on the stay request.
• Under MSPB rules and precedent, OSC's request for a stay shall be granted unless the Board member determines that, under the facts and circumstances involved, such a stay would not be appropriate. 5 U.S.C. § 1214(b)(1)(A)(ii). OSC's stay request need only fall within the range of rationality to be granted, and the facts must be reviewed in the light most favorable to a finding of reasonable grounds to believe that a prohibited personnel practice was (or will be) committed.
• If the 45-day stay ends before OSC finishes its investigation, OSC can request that the MSPB extend the stay. The MSPB can extend the stay for any period the Board considers appropriate. 5 U.S.C. § 1214(b)(1)(B).
• At the end of the investigation, if the OSC determines that one or more prohibited personnel practices occurred, it can order corrective action and ask the Merit Systems Protection Board to seek discipline against the agency officials responsible for committing the prohibited personnel practices.

Resources

• A copy of the initial complaint filed on February 14, 2025 is available here.
• Special Counsel Dellinger's statement is available here.
• A redacted example of a stay requested contained in Special Counsel Dellinger's statement is available here.
• The February 22 supplemented complaint is available here.
• The Government Executive story is here. Civil Service Strong: Resources and updates for federal employees
• Data Call for Probationary Employees: Intake form for terminated probationary employees (also found on https://www.civilservicestrong.org/)
• Democracy Forward and Democracy 2025: Receive updates, news and press releases on moving legal action

For those seeking to engage with the complaint process

• If civil servants ask you how they can join the suit or are interested in getting more information about it, please have them engage with Democracy Forward and Civil Service Strong teams via the portal at www.civilservicestrong.org using the "connect with our team" button. Engaging with this portal does not constitute a commitment to engage and / or a commitment for representation.

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