US judges have ordered several federal government agencies to reinstate the jobs of probationary employees fired en masse last month.

In California and Maryland, district judges ruled that the proper procedures for reducing the size of the federal workforce had not been followed.

Judge William Alsup in San Francisco called the sackings at a range of departments, including defence, energy, treasury, and veterans affairs, a “sham strategy”.

The Department of Justice said the firings were done based on guidance – rather than a directive – from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

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Judge Alsup countered the DOJ lawyer’s arguments, citing evidence including termination letters that stated the firings were carried out on OPM’s instructions.

“That should not have been done in our country,” Judge Alsup said. “It was a sham in order to avoid statutory requirements.”

Probationary employees were targeted because they lacked the legal right to appeal, said lawyer Danielle Leonard, who represented a coalition of government employee unions.

Judge Alsup cited the firing of a government worker in Albuquerque, New Mexico, over poor perfromance, when in fact he had been given top marks for performance.

“I just want to say it is a sad day when our government would fire a good employee and say it’s for performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” Judge Alsup said.

In Baltimore, Maryland, district judge James Bredar, ruled that Trump’s team had broken regulations and said the idea that the workers had been individually sacked for unsatisfactory performances was highly doubtful.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Judge Alsup of singlehandedly “attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the executive branch”.

She said that power rested with the president and “singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the president’s agenda”.

“The Trump administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” she added.

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