Appeals court clears way to re-fire federal workers

ALBANY, New York — A US appeals court cleared the way on Wednesday for 18 federal agencies to again fire thousands of employees who were reinstated after losing their jobs as part of US President Donald Trump's purge of the federal workforce.

The 4th United States Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the lower court judge in Maryland that ordered they be reinstated likely lacked the power to hear the lawsuit brought by 19 states and Washington, DC, to challenge the mass firings of probationary government employees in February.

Probationary employees typically have less than a year of service in their roles, though some are longtime federal workers in new jobs.