The city of San Diego has joined dozens of local governments and government officials in support of a lawsuit opposing the Trump administration's firings of tens of thousands of federal employees.
San Diego and others filed an amicus brief last week supporting the legal challenge to firings issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Last week, a Northern California federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs — which include unions representing the fired workers — and ordered that their jobs be reinstated. The Justice Department has since appealed that ruling from U.S. District Judge William Alsup.
Hours after Alsup's ruling, a Maryland judge overseeing a similar lawsuit also ordered dozens of federal agencies to reinstate the employees.
Both judges found that the manner in which the probationary employees were fired violated federal law and called into question claims from the Office of Personnel Management that the firings were based on the employees' job performance.
In a statement released Tuesday, the San Diego City Attorney's Office said it was joining the lawsuit in support of the "thousands of federal employees" who call San Diego home, as well as those in need of services provided by agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Navy and the Social Security Administration.
"The consequences of these mass firings extend beyond those who lost their jobs. They impact veterans, seniors, military families, and countless others in our community who rely on the services these federal employees provide," San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a statement. "We are joining this amicus brief to push back against an unlawful and unjustified attack on workers who serve the public and to protect the integrity of federal employment practices."
