NYTIMES:"A federal judge on Thursday ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of workers with probationary status who had been fired as part of President Trump’s government-gutting initiative.
Ruling from the bench, Judge William H. Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California went further than a previous ruling. He 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.
He directed the Treasury and the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Interior Departments to comply with his order and offer to reinstate any probationary employees who were improperly terminated. But he added that he was open to expanding his decision later to apply to other agencies where the extent of harms had not been as fully documented yet.
..." The Minute Order on 3-13-23 states:"Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge William Alsup:
Preliminary Injunction Hearing held on 3/13/2025. Court granted and extended TRO as stated on the record. Court directed counsel to file briefs by 3/21/2025, 12:00 noon, 10 pages in length as stated on the record. Memorandum Opinion to issue.
Initial Case Management Conference not held. Still, discovery open; parties to comply with all rules and standing orders (e.g., Supplemental Order to Order Setting Initial Case Management Conference in Civil Cases Before Judge William Alsup 18, 35 (Revd Aug. 27, 2024)). Court further stated plaintiffs may depose Noah Peters in Washington, D.C.; Government to make him available for 3 hours within two weeks.
Total Time in Court: 8:00 - 9:30 = 1 Hour; 30 Minutes.
Court Reporter: Kendra Steppler.
Plaintiff Attorneys: Danielle Leonard, Stacey Leyton, Eileen Goldsmith, Tera Heintz, Norman Eisen.
Defendant Attorney: Kelsey Helland.
(This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (afm, COURT STAFF) (Date Filed: 3/13/2025) (Entered: 03/13/2025)"
READ THE FIRST TRO
The Trump administration filed a notice of appeal.
CNN:"
A federal appeals court will allow the Trump administration to implement directives from the president cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as an appeal of a ruling pausing those orders plays out.
Two of the three judges on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel wrote concurring opinions raising concerns about the anti-DEI directives, even as they concluded that the administration had met the bar for putting the trial judge’s ruling on hold.
The circuit order is a major win for President Donald Trump, who has made the elimination of DEI programs a centerpiece of his administration..."
COMMENT: THIS IS A STAY PENDING APPEAL, NOT A FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE LEGALITY OF THE ORDERS MEMORANDUM OPINION OF DISTRICT COURT JUDGE;
DISTRICT COURT PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION;
DISTRICT COURT CLARIFIED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION;
4TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS STAY PENDING APPEAL
The concurring opinion of Chief Judge Diaz stated:
"...The Executive Orders charge that DEI (and the related DEIA, which also denotes Accessibility) policies include “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences” that “deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.” See Exec. Order No. 14,173, 90 Fed. Reg. 8633 (Jan. 21, 2025). The Orders seek to terminate all “‘equity-based’ grants or contracts” that apparently have led to “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.” Exec. Order No. 14,151, 90 Fed. Reg. 8339 (Jan. 20, 2025). But neither Order ever defines DEI or its component terms.2 1Like my colleague, I too reserve judgment on how the administration enforces these executive orders, which may well implicate cognizable First and Fifth Amendment concerns. See Concurring Op. at 7–8 (Harris, J., concurring). I likewise reserve judgment on the extent to which the government relies on the Orders’ savings clause provisions as it enforces the Orders’ directives against federal contractors, grantees, and private entities. See, e.g., City & Cnty. of San Francisco v. Trump, 897 F.3d 1225, 1239–40 (9th Cir. 2018) (declining to give effect to savings clause where that clause “in [] context” would “override clear and specific language,” and render “judicial review a meaningless exercise”). 2 As a result, it’s unclear what types of programs—formal or informal—the administration seeks to eliminate, and it could not respond to the district court’s (Continued) 4 And despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium. For when this country embraces true diversity, it acknowledges and respects the social identity of its people. When it fosters true equity, it opens opportunities and ensures a level playing field for all. And when its policies are truly inclusive, it creates an environment and culture where everyone is respected and valued. What could be more American than that?..." COMMENT: The government alleges DEI programs are discriminatory. DEI is designed to remedy past and present discrimination against minority groups. What the government under Trump and the MAGA movement is doing is reasserting racist white supremacist ideology and targeting minority and disenfranchised groups. This is inspite of the fact that
"In the United States, the wealthiest families are overwhelmingly white, and white households hold a significantly larger share of total wealth compared to other racial groups, with white families having six times the average wealth of Black and Hispanic families..." GOOGLE"
Therefore Trump and the MAGA movement are attempting to maintain white supremacy and hegemony During the election Trump et al belittled Kamala Harris as a DEI hire who was incompetent.
"The latest attack on Harris is that she is a “DEI Vice President” Specifically, Tennessee Congressman Timothy Burchett, who is incidentally exactly the same age as Harris and arguably possesses a thinner resume, claims that because she is a woman of color chosen for such a high office, she is just another example of the kind of “mediocrity” that you get when you make a “DEI hire.”
“DEI hire” is a disparaging term that refers to quotas or targets for hiring racial and ethnic minorities, women, and/or people with disabilities for positions of authority and/or power. Because it refers to all of the above groups, the term “DEI hire” actually implies that only heterosexual, white men are qualified for such high leadership positions. Indeed, the same people who use the term also tend to extol the idea of “meritocracy.”"FORBES "...The formation of unity struggles among people of color widely emerged in the 20th century and have been identified as an attempt to forge a united struggle by emphasizing the similar forms of oppression black and brown people confront under white supremacy, including shared experiences of subjugation under colonial capitalism, Jim Crow laws, de jure and de facto school and community segregation, voter disenfranchisement, economic oppression, exclusion from white-owned establishments, and the perception by white people that black and brown people are biologically and racially predisposed to be inferior, criminal, disorderly, and degenerate.[4][5]"WIKIPEDIA"