LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump has set out to drastically reshape the federal workforce. And yesterday, he got some help in the effort from the U.S. Supreme Court.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In a brief, unsigned order, the court said, the administration is free to move forward with the firing of 16,000 probationary federal employees. But the decision wasn't a total victory for the administration, since - for now, at least - the court made no ruling on whether the firings themselves were actually legal.
FADEL: NPR's Nina Totenberg has been following the case and joins us now to break it all down. Hi, Nina.
NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So let's jump in here. This is only the latest case in which the Supreme Court has taken a so-called emergency action at the behest of the Trump administration, and lately, they're winning more than they're losing, right?
TOTENBERG: Yes. On Friday, the court allowed the Trump administration to cancel millions of dollars in education grants. Then two days ago, the court threw out a lower court action temporarily barring the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. Though there was a caveat that required all the deportees to have a hearing before a federal judge on their individual deportation orders. And yesterday, the court threw out a lower court order that barred the administration from firing 16,000 probationary employees. The court said that the plaintiffs in the case were not the employees themselves but nonprofit groups who failed to show that they themselves would be hurt by the firings.
FADEL: OK. Let's drill down on this latest one. What does probationary in this context mean?
TOTENBERG: It means the fired employee has to be on the job for a year or less - or in some cases, more - time that includes people who are serving in a job that they were promoted to, for instance.
FADEL: OK. So the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to get rid of that lower court order, and it did. So what happens now? Do these fired employees have any recourse left?
TOTENBERG: Yes. But it's going to take time, and therein lies the rub. The employees have to first challenge their firings at the Merit Systems Protection Board, which is the federal agency charged with protecting civil servants. And for the most part, the most efficient way to do that is systematically, with a class action that says, essentially, we are representing all of these similarly situated fired employees, and we, as a class, should be reinstated. But in order to be certified as a class, they have to go before an administrative judge at the Merit Systems Protection Board. And so far, there have been more than 10,000 cases filed since October, including 20 class action suits. And I would presume that when the dust settles, there will be lots more class actions.
FADEL: A lot of suits. Can the Merit System Protection Board actually act quickly?
TOTENBERG: The MSPB system is meant to be fast, with cases finalized in 120 days, and the judges' decisions become final in 35 days, unless there's some intervening action by the Merit Systems Protection Board. Initially, any appeal would be taken by the MSPB board, but the agency didn't even have a quorum until two days ago, and the two board members there for the moment might well cancel each other's votes out. And in any event, the law allows a relatively quick appeal to the Court of Appeals for the federal circuit. And in that setting, for sure, there will be thousands of employees who do have legal standing to sue and have been harmed.
FADEL: NPR's Nina Totenberg. Thank you, Nina.
TOTENBERG: Thank you.
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