US court orders government to restore jobs to nearly 25,000 fired officials

The administration of US President Donald Trump has confirmed for the first time that it has laid off nearly 25,000 newly hired employees and that federal agencies are looking to restore their positions.

The move comes after a ruling that the dismissals of the employees may have been illegal.

The Trump administration filed a federal court filing in Baltimore, Maryland late on March 17, including confirmation from officials at 18 federal agencies that newly hired employees were temporarily laid off.

Specifically, the Treasury Department laid off about 7,600 people, the Agriculture Department laid off about 5,700 people, and the Department of Health and Human Services cut more than 3,200 employees. Currently, federal agencies are reassigning or looking to reassign jobs for laid-off employees.

This is the Trump administration's first full report on its efforts to streamline the federal bureaucracy.

Earlier, on March 13, Federal Judge James Bredar in Baltimore ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by 19 Democratic-led states, which said that the mass layoffs of new hires by 18 agencies that began in February of this year violated federal employee layoff regulations.

Judge Bredar also ordered the agencies to reassign the individuals pending further legal developments.

In a lawsuit filed by 19 states and the Washington, DC, area, the plaintiffs argue that mass layoffs would spike unemployment claims and put an increased burden on social services provided by the states.

On March 17, the Trump administration filed an appeal of Judge Bredar's decision to the Richmond, Virginia-based appeals court, requesting that the ruling be put on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.