The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and other federal agencies over the Trump administration’s firing of federal employees.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive dismantling of the federal workforce.

Probationary staff were the first federal workers to be fired as the Trump administration tells agencies to plan for more layoffs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture must temporarily reinstate more than 5,000 probationary employees fired since Feb. 13, according to a ruling by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

You'll get access to an ad-free website with a faster photo browser, the chance to claim free tickets to a host of events (including everything from Summerfest to the Milwaukee Film Festival), access to members-only tours, and a host of other benefits.

The decision is a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to drastically and quickly shrink the federal bureaucracy.

An independent federal board has directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate nearly 6,000 employees fired last month amid the Trump administration's effort to cull the federal workforce.

A workers’ board is reinstating – at least temporarily – almost 6,000 fired probationary workers from the Department of Agriculture, according to a newly issued order obtained by CNN.

An updated memo from the Trump administration shifts the power to fire federal workers, giving more authority back to individual agencies.