Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general to secure 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 workers were unjustly dismissed in an act of disregard for both the law and the people they serve,” Rayfield said. “The court’s decision to reinstate them is a powerful reminder that justice should always rise above political recklessness.”

On March 6, 2025, Attorney General Rayfield joined the coalition in suing numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Oregon and the 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 Oregon 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:

Attorney General Rayfield 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, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.