An independent federal board has ordered the US Department of Agriculture to temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 employees who were fired as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
The decision, issued on Wednesday by Cathy Harris, chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board – responsible for reviewing federal employee firings – orders the USDA to reinstate the roughly 5,600 terminated probationary employees for a period of 45 days while it continues to investigate the firings.
The order applies to probationary workers who received identical termination letters, which stated that based on their performance, they had not demonstrated that their further employment “would be in the public interest”.
Harris wrote in the order that during the 45-day period, the recently fired workers will be “placed in the positions that they held prior to the probationary terminations”.
Harris indicated that she had found reasonable grounds to believe that the agency terminated the employees in violation of federal laws and procedures.
The “45-day stay will minimize the adverse consequences of the apparent prohibited personnel practice”, Harris said.
J Ward Morrow, the assistant general counsel at the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents some of the reinstated workers, described the order to Reuters as “great news”.
Morrow also emphasized the need for similar action to be done “with all impacted agencies with similarly situated employees as fast as possible”.
Tens of thousands of government workers have been laid off since Trump took office at the end of January, largely as a result of directives from the billionaire Elon Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency” (Doge), aimed at reducing the federal workforce.
While this order issued on Wednesday specifically applies to the USDA, it may have the potential to set a precedent for additional rulings that could affect other agencies, according to Politico.
But, this ruling may not be the final word on the legality of the federal mass terminations, Politico reports. The news site notes that the administration may have options to put reinstated workers on leave or terminate them once more during a formal “reduction in force”.
The merit systems board’s ruling on Wednesday follows a similar decision from last week that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out mass firings of workers including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience.
There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies.
The ruling on Wednesday also emerged as the merit systems board is dealing with its own suspension issues and legal battles, as Trump is attempting to dismiss Harris, who is a Democrat from her position.
A federal judge intervened on Tuesday and blocked Trump from firing Harris and from removing her from the board without just cause before her term expires in three years, according to Reuters. The administration is currently appealing that decision.
Source: www.theguardian.com