Courts Order 6,700 IRS Employees to Be Rehired But They Can Still Be Properly Fired by May 15

According to THE HILL the IRS fired 6,700 employees on February 20, 2025, a government official told NewsNation, the sister television network of The Hill.

The employees were designated as probationary, meaning they were working for the agency on a trial basis prior to becoming full staff members.

More than 5,000 of the fired staff members were auditors and collection staff dealing with tax compliance issues, the official told NewsNation.

Now two judges ordered federal agencies on February 14, 2025 to reinstate tens of thousands of workers with probationary status who had been fired across 19 agencies as part of President Trump’s government-gutting initiative.

Together, the rulings formed a wide temporary reprieve for employees across much of the government, including major agencies like the Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and Interior Departments. 

Judge Bredar’s order late Thursday followed a similar one earlier in the day from Judge William H. Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Alsup found that the Trump administration’s firing of probationary workers had essentially been done unlawfully by fiat from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources arm. 

Only Agencies Themselves Have Broad
Hiring And Firing Powers, He Said.

Both judges ordered that the agencies offer to reinstate any probationary employees who had improperly been terminated. Neither order was a final decision in the case.  

Agencies planning to conduct large-scale layoffs can still proceed in accordance with the laws that govern such processes, he said, meaning that the reprieve for workers may only be temporary. The Office of Personnel Management had set a deadline of Thursday for agencies to submit reduction in force plans.

However, the Trump administration wants to cut the IRS workforce by 20% by May 15, including those who have already left or were fired.

Officials at the Elon Musk-led group advising the administration want Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause to eliminate 18,141 jobs across the agency. This includes the roughly 12,000 employees terminated as part of new-hire layoffs.

Followed by taxpayer services with 3,247, and a small portion in information technology, the source said. Earlier this year the IRS had about 100,000 employees.

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Sources

THE HILL 

Bloomberg Tax