President Trump's efforts to fire federal workers and shrink the size of government agencies took a hit this week as an independent federal agency ruled some of the president's actions violated federal law.

The Office of Special Counsel ruled that six federal workers were unlawfully fired and promptly reinstated them.

Those workers will keep their jobs until April to give the special counsel time to come up with a solution.

It's yet another sign that the president's efforts could face numerous legal hurdles, as the administration also walks back an email from Elon Musk and Doge that caused mass confusion.

Asking workers to justify their jobs or lose them, the White House now says that request is voluntary.

Senior correspondent Joanna Geiger spoke with two Jersey based federal workers who were recently fired and say at least some of the legal challenges may be too late.

It's beyond devastating for myself and my career and everything I've worked hard for in terms of wanting to serve the American people.

This federal worker who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity is among the 200,000 federal employees who have been terminated in the first month of President Trump's term as part of the DOJ's Department of Government Efficiency mass firings under Elon Musk.

Her termination notice stated.

That I am unfit for continued employment because my ability, knowledge and skill to not fit the agency's current needs and the letter that I was sent was completely rebuffed by my supervisor, indicating that I was outstanding.

Lisa Breillat received a similar termination notice, seemingly stock language reportedly used in firings across federal agencies.

Berlet came to New Jersey just five months ago to start her job at the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

Her boss had also just written a positive review a month ahead of schedule.

He actually started to get worried as we started hearing things on the news.

He's like, let's let's make sure we get a review for you on paper.

And he submitted a glowing review for me.

The anonymous worker is a Ph.D. level scientist who worked at the National Institute for Health or Night, researching the health impacts of toxic exposure during natural and man made disasters.

She says it took her department years to find someone with her qualifications and worries about the impact of mass firings on public health.

We won't see those effects six months from now.

We'll see them years from now when children who were exposed to those exposures are now developing lifelong health related challenges that will certainly impact the ability for our system to deal with Roulettes.

Work with the Fish and Wildlife Service, ensure that development in New Jersey complies with the Federal Endangered Species Act, given the hundreds fired from her agency.

She says they'll be short staffed.

Both were hired in September as probationary workers, a standard practice where federal employees work for one year before becoming a permanent worker, pending a positive review.

Instead, they were fired with no notice, and in spite of their positive reviews.

There was no due process.

There was no transparency there.

Indiscriminate firings.

They're not based on job performance.

They're not based on how your expertise fit into the institute, contrary to what was mentioned in the letter.

It's pretty clear that no one at the Department of Interior evaluated over 400 probationary employees performance and their skills before notifying each of the agencies that they were to terminate.

Do you.

Believe that.

A new president, that a new administration has the.

Right to try to shrink the size of government?

Clearly, there are inefficiencies in the government.

However, I do believe that there is a right way to do this and there's a wrong way to do this.

And this, to me, is clearly wrong.

You don't base those ideas of wanting to shrink the government down on random acts of terminations.

It doesn't make sense from a business perspective, but it doesn't make sense from a scientific perspective.

If you are firing the minds that are making all of this running.

How is that helping the American people?

She also claims colleagues who are permanent employees at NIH and at the National Science Foundation were also fired only to later learn their status had been retroactively changed back to probationary worker without their knowledge or the knowledge of their direct supervisors.

Roulette offers this word of caution to doge.

Not to so easily toss away the resources that they have within the federal workforce.

They're all well qualified, experienced biologists, and there is definitely fear that there just won't be enough jobs to go around for everyone.

Scientific experts will be leaving the United States, undoubtedly going to other countries, and once that happens, it will take decades, if not a generation or more, to recoup those scientific expertise while the rest of the world, I will add, will be furthering their own.

It will cut the U.S. government from a scientific standpoint.

So far behind that.

I don't know if we'll be able to catch up in my lifetime.

Both are considering the appeals process a longshot, given their probationary status.

They're also considering possible legal action.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Vargas.