In response to a court order, the Federal Aviation Administration has reinstated 132 employees it had fired in February amid a broad effort by the Trump administration to curtail the size of the US government.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialises (PASS), which represents the affected employees, confirms they have now been “reinstated”.
“They will receive back pay from February 15 and should return to duty status on March 20,” the union adds, calling the reversal “a win for public safety”.
The FAA fired the 132 probationary employees suddenly, prompting pushback from unions and democratic lawmakers and spurring lawsuits aimed at overturning the layoffs.
Last week, a US district judge in Maryland ordered the FAA and numerous other US government agencies to rehire staff who had been let go.
Affected FAA workers included aeronautical information specialists, aviation safety assistants and environmental protection specialists.
The Trump administration has appealed, according to reports.
Since Trump’s inauguration in January, his newly formed Department of Government Efficiency has been sweeping through the federal bureaucracy, firing employees and halting spending on programmes deemed as wasteful or inefficient.
