Probationary workers—that is, workers who are new to the workforce and haven’t received more advanced benefits and protections—have suffered massive cuts across the government, as DOGE and the Trump administration have attempted to greatly reduce the federal workforce.

A federal judge called the administration’s justification for the firings of workers with probationary status a “sham.”

A federal judge in San Francisco ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies,