Court orders reinstatement of FAA employees fired by DOGE
Washington DC - A court order has forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reinstate 132 employees who were fired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on February 14.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists Union (PASS) announced on Monday that 132 probationary employees will be reinstated and back-paid. They are set to resume their duties on March 20.
US District Judge James Bredar ordered that the FAA reinstate the fired employees, along with tens of thousands of other probationary workers across 18 federal agencies because DOGE had violated rules around mass dismissals of federal workers.
"When the federal government terminates large numbers of its employees, including those still on probation because they were recently hired or promoted, it must follow certain rules," court documents released last week state.
"Some of those rules are intended to help states manage the consequences of sudden, mass layoffs," the documents read. "There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively."
Firings of FAA employees have sparked considerable concern due to a string of aviation incidents in the US over the first three months of 2025. As recently as Friday, an American Airlines plane caught on fire at Denver International Airport.
132 workers rehired by FAA after mass firing
"This is a win for public safety and for a critical workforce dedicated to the FAA's mission," said PASS president David Spero in a press release. "Haphazardly eliminating positions and encouraging resignations creates a demoralizing effect on the workforce."
"Although their termination email indicated they were being let go for performance reasons 'not in the public interest,' PASS has learned from managers and supervisors that this could not be further from the truth," he said.
"These dedicated employees chose to serve their country, and they will be able to get back to their important work on behalf of the American flying public."
Cover photo: Unsplash/Miguel Ángel Sanz