BALTIMORE — A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he may narrow an earlier ruling that required the Trump administration to rehire nearly 25,000 probationary workers.

Title 5 of the U.S. Code mandates that when a federal employee is reinstated following an improper adverse personnel action, their employing agency must grant them back pay for their time spent off the job.

The Pentagon is reinstating fired probationary employees, but many are still waiting for instructions on returning to work, while others are still in limbo.

A Maryland judge directed the Trump administration to pause workforce reductions that might include thousands of probationary employees slated for reinstatement, expanding an earlier order to put them back on the payroll temporarily.

A federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to reinstate nearly 25,000 fired government employees said on Wednesday that he could narrow his ruling to workers based in Washington, D.C., and the 19 mostly Democratic-led states that sued over the mass firings.

Unlike HUD, most other agencies have said they are providing backpay to their previously fired probationary employees as they work to reinstate them.

The judge said he needed more time to determine whether a longer-term halt should apply to the entire country or be restricted to certain states while the case proceeds.

The emergency application seeks a stay to an injunction ordering the reinstatement of “over 16,000 probationary employees” who were fired.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday for an emergency stay of a district court judge’s decision that 16,000 federal probationary employees term