MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul and 19 other attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction (PI) in Maryland et al. v. USDA, a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for Maryland suing numerous federal agencies for the unlawful mass firing of federal probationary employees.
The PI protects federal probationary employees who live or work in the plaintiff states and orders 20 federal agencies to reinstate unlawfully terminated probationary employees while the court case continues. The PI also requires those agencies to follow lawful procedures in conducting any future reductions in force.
“These mass firings unlawfully disrupted people’s lives and would put services that Wisconsinites rely on at risk,” said AG Kaul. “This decision keeps the stop on these improper firings while this case proceeds.”
On March 6, 2025, AG Kaul joined the coalition in suing numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Wisconsin and other plaintiff states. The lawsuit sought immediate relief, and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 14, 2025, for 18 federal agencies. The Court later extended that order by five days such that it was set to expire on April 1, which would have resulted in devastating impacts on Wisconsin and the plaintiff states, as well as their probationary employees.
The PI extends the Court’s earlier order requiring the federal agencies to stop the unlawful mass firings and to give those employees their jobs back while the attorneys general litigate the case against the agencies. The PI ensures that for the remainder of the case, the following federal agencies cannot continue their unlawful conduct:
| Department of Agriculture | Department of Transportation |
| Department of Commerce | Department of Treasury |
| Department of Defense | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Department of Education | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |
| Department of Energy | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Department of Health and Human Services | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |
| Department of Homeland Security | General Services Administration |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | Office of Personnel Management |
| Department of Interior | Small Business Administration |
| Department of Labor | United States Agency for International Development |
AG Kaul was joined by the attorneys general of Maryland, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
View this press release on the DOJ website.
