​​​​​​​HOUSTON, United States

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday halted a lower court's ruling that required several federal agencies to reinstate nearly 16,000 government workers the Trump administration had put on the chopping block, according to media reports.

The decision means the federal government does not have to bring back the probationary workers who were laid off as part of the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) initiative to streamline the federal budget by slashing the workforce.

A US District judge in California ruled that fired probationary employees in that state should be reinstated because the process used was legally flawed. The affected agencies included the departments of Veterans Affairs, defense, energy, interior, agriculture and Treasury Department.

"The District Court's injunction was based solely on the allegations of the nine non-profit organization plaintiffs in this case. But under established law, those allegations are presently insufficient to support the organizations' standing," the Supreme Court wrote in an unsigned ruling.

The order indicated that the nonprofit groups that sued may not have legal standing to fight the claims in court, which also affects a similar ruling in the state of Maryland that applies to the agencies affected in California.

The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the Maryland case where a lower court ruling remains in place that requires affected employees in 19 states and the District of Columbia to stay on paid administrative leave while the litigation continues.

The Democratic-led states, government unions and individual employees have filed multiple lawsuits alleging the Trump administration did not follow proper procedures in firing probationary employees, who are generally in their first or second year of work.

Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling, however, clears the way for the Trump administration to re-fire workers in the 31 states not included in the lawsuits.