A federal judge has ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind “illegal” instructions to cull the workforce of federal agencies. In an email sent across agencies on February 14, OPM instructed agency heads to “separate probationary employees you have not identified as mission-critical.” U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California issued an order Thursday saying the directions were unlawful overreach by the OPM and “should be stopped, rescinded.” “The