Following an order from a federal judge in Maryland, the Federal Aviation Administration is bringing back 132 workers  who were fired on February 14, the union announced Monday.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union announced that probationary employees who were dismissed due to federal government cuts led by Elon Musk will receive back pay and are expected to resume their duties on March 20. "This is a win for public safety and for a critical workforce dedicated to the FAA's mission," union President David Spero said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced last month that the FAA had removed 352 probationary employees out of its total workforce of about 45,000. He clarified that none of those affected held "safety critical" roles. The FAA has yet to comment on the matter. Additionally, the US Transportation Department reduced hundreds of other probationary staff members across its various agencies. A series of recent plane crashes have raised concerns about aviation safety in the United States.

Meanwhile, US District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore has ordered the government to reinstate tens of thousands of federal employees. The judge ruled that 18 agencies broke regulations by firing probationary employees in large numbers. Although the government claimed the dismissals were due to performance issues, the court found that proper procedures were not followed. "There were no individualised assessments of employees. They were all just fired," Bredar said. The union stated that those dismissed in February included employees from technical operations, mission support services, air traffic services and flight standards service. "Haphazardly eliminating positions and encouraging resignations creates a demoralising effect on the workforce," Spero said.

"We are pleased that the expungement of these letters referencing the false performance claims allows these employees to continue their service to the American flying public without this unsubstantiated blemish on their work record." The Trump administration initially offered buyouts to air traffic controllers but later declared them ineligible, along with other safety officials like TSA officers. The FAA is currently about 3,500 controllers short of its staffing goals, causing many controllers to work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks. FAA Administrator Duffy has announced plans to increase hiring to address the shortage. 

"The FAA is already short of 800 technicians and these firings inject unnecessary risk into the airspace in the aftermath of four deadly crashes in the last month," US Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, said last month.