On March 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied an appeal made by various federal agencies (defendants) to impose an administrative stay of a temporary restraining order issued by the lower court requiring the defendants to reinstate terminated federal workers, particularly those still on probationary status.

The case centered on a lawsuit brought by various states and the District of Columbia (plaintiffs) requesting a preliminary injunction requiring the reinstatement of certain terminated federal workers after President Trump’s Executive Order 14210 led to widespread terminations of federal probationary employees. As previously covered by InfoBytes, a district court found the agencies failed to provide the required 60-day notice to states before implementing reductions in force and mandated the reinstatement of probationary employees to their government positions through a temporary restraining order.

On appeal, the 4th Circuit denied the defendants’ request for an administrative stay pending the resolution of the appeal, noting the district court’s intention to hold a hearing on March 26 and decide whether to grant or deny the preliminary injunction. In connection with the stay, a circuit judge filed a concurring opinion, expressing concern about the general use of nationwide injunctions by district court by “those who have not sought it,” noting that the temporary restraining order required federal agencies to reinstate fired probationary workers across all states, including those not involved in the lawsuit.