The attorneys general of Washington D.C., Maryland, and 18 other states are suing the Trump administration over the mass firing of federal employees.

Their lawsuit joins several other legal challenges seeking relief for tens of thousands of fired workers.

The Democratic attorneys general argue that federal agencies falsely told probationary employees — those relatively new on the job — through termination letters that they were being fired because of their performance.

In fact, the states argue that more than 20 agencies, who are named as defendants in the lawsuit, were trying to shrink their headcount through a process called a reduction in force, but failed to follow proper procedures for doing so.

Federal law requires agencies to notify states generally 60 days in advance when laying off 50 or more people, so that states can jump into action.