Department of Veterans Affairs Building in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — Several government employee unions filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to rescind the firing of tens of thousands of new employees in a federal workforce reduction ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration that includes more than 1,000 workers terminated at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The lawsuit is asking a federal court in San Francisco to overturn a Feb. 13 directive by the Office of Personnel Management that ordered the termination of thousands of federal employees who were new to their jobs.

The lawsuit provided background on how the mass firings were carried out at the direction of OPM. Agencies were told to use a “template email” to inform workers of their dismissal and state that job performance issues were the reason for the firing, according to the complaint.

A “massive fraud” was perpetrated on the federal workforce when agencies were ordered to lie about federal workers’ performances as pretext for their dismissal, the lawsuit claimed. Probationary workers lack the employment protections of more seasoned staff.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday night is among dozens of legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the federal workforce. But it is the only case so far seeking to overturn the firing of probationary workers.

The federal government employs more than 2 million civilians who live and work in every state and U.S. territory, the Congressional Research Service said in December 2024. The figure does not include uniformed military personnel or federal contractors.

The legal challenge comes as a growing number of lawmakers raised concerns about the impact of the firings on government services, especially at the VA, which provides health care and disability benefits to veterans.

“This is a scandal in the making,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Thursday at a news conference to discuss the firing of VA workers.

King questioned how the VA can continue to effectively fulfill its mission after firing 1,000 probationary workers last week amid a hiring freeze that has left vacant another 2,000 positions.

“I wonder if the point isn’t to gut the ability of government to serve the people,” King said, describing the workforce reduction as carried out without deliberation or effective planning — “in a pell-mell rush for all the wrong reasons.”

Thirty-five Democratic senators, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also lodged complaints about the VA firings of probationary workers in a letter Wednesday to Doug Collins, the new VA secretary. The senators said they are receiving reports from veterans and VA workers about health care services disrupted or canceled because of the firings.

“Openings for new clinics have been delayed because VA cannot hire the necessary staff to open their doors. Service lines at VA hospitals and clinics have been halted. Beds and operating rooms at VA facilities have been suspended,” the senators wrote in the letter.

But King told reporters Thursday he believes the VA firings were carried out without direct involvement or consultation with Collins. The terminations are part of a sweeping federal workforce reductions of tens of thousands of workers announced by Trump.

Trump has stated the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, organized by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is overseeing the workforce reduction.

“This is not coming from within the VA but is government policy coming from Elon Musk, who has no official status,” King said. “I believe Collins’ heart is in right place, but he is not in position to make these decisions.”

The federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco states federal employees on probation were sent “standardized notices of termination” falsely asserting they were being fired for performance reasons.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals are among the plaintiffs.

The Office of Personnel Management, which serves as human resources for the federal government workforce, and Charles Ezell, its director, are named as defendants in the case.

“The federal agencies that followed OPM’s directive did not otherwise have plans to terminate the entirety of their probationary workforce,” the lawsuit said. “In fact, some agencies have confirmed to their employees they did not want to terminate their probationary employees but were directed to do so by OPM. And they have confirmed that the notices of termination mandated by OPM were false, because the agencies were not firing the workers for performance reasons.”

In the 28-page complaint, the attorneys argued OPM does not have the authority to order federal agencies to terminate thousands of employees in a mass firing.

“Congress, not OPM, controls and authorizes federal employment and related spending by the federal administrative agencies, and Congress has determined that each agency is responsible for managing its own employees,” according to the lawsuit.

At King’s news conference, he also questioned the legality of the firings at VA and the growing list of other federal agencies, including NASA, the Education Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.

King said Trump does not have the constitutional or legal authority to decide which laws to uphold or ignore. King referred to the annual appropriations bill that Congress adopts to fund federal programs and services.

“I believe Congress should reassert itself and not hide behind the courts but say this is a violation of constitutional separation of powers,” King said. “So far, that has not happened. The [Republican] majority has said they are not so sure but will let the courts decide.”

The senator also raised doubts about how much money will be saved by firing probationary workers. He said the total earnings of federal workers represent 3% of the budget.

“All of this drama and harm being done to veterans and others is for a relatively small payback to the taxpayers,” King said.

While the VA and other agencies pledged not to fire frontline staff with critical jobs, he said, “if there is no [worker] there to answer the phone,” the quality and effectiveness of government in delivering services is diminished for Americans.