Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring 18 federal agencies to halt illegal mass layoffs of probationary employees and reinstate those fired by 1:00 p.m. on March 17, 2025. This ruling follows a lawsuit by Brown and a coalition of 20 attorneys general, challenging the Trump administration’s failure to provide the legally required 60-day notice before terminating thousands of federal employees, causing harm to Maryland’s economy and workforce.
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following statement after a federal judge in the United States District Court for Maryland issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) for 18 federal agencies, ordering them to stop the illegal mass layoffs of federal probationary employees and to reinstate fired workers by 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 17, 2025.
President Trump blindsided Maryland when he fired thousands of federal probationary employees without giving the state the 60-day notice required by law. He jeopardized these employees’ financial security, threatened Maryland’s economy, and risked overwhelming the state’s ability to help those who were out of work.
This ruling not only requires the Trump Administration to stop these indiscriminate and unlawful layoffs but also orders it to undo the harm inflicted on Maryland by restoring the jobs of hardworking federal employees. These mass firings reflect a disregard for both the law and the essential role of the civil service in maintaining government stability.
Our Office is committed to upholding the rule of law and will take every necessary legal step to ensure compliance with this court order. The TRO order comes seven days after Attorney General Brown led a coalition of 20 attorneys general on March 6, 2025, in suing numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Maryland and the other plaintiff states. The lawsuit sought immediate relief.
The TRO stops the unlawful mass firings, orders the agencies to give those employees their jobs back, and applies to the following 18 federal agencies:
Attorney General Brown was joined by the attorneys general of Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.