“Fired by Trump, Rehired in a Twist: USDA Workers Win Big!”
A workers’ board has ordered the reinstatement—at least temporarily—of nearly 6,000 probationary employees fired from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to a newly obtained order by CNN.
The Merit Systems Protection Board’s decision challenges former President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce and suggests the mass terminations may have been unlawful. It also raises the possibility that similar firings across other federal agencies could be overturned.
The layoffs began on February 13, with the Trump administration citing that the employees were not in the “public interest” to retain. However, a special counsel reviewing the case argued that the firings did not comply with federal employment laws. The board agreed, issuing an opinion by member Gina Grippando stating that the workers must be reinstated immediately for at least 45 days while further investigations take place.
The case was led by an anonymized forestry technician who claimed he had only received positive feedback and no prior disciplinary actions. His supervisor was reportedly unaware of his termination until hours before it happened.
The reinstatement order applies to all USDA probationary employees dismissed since February 13 for alleged performance issues—affecting at least 5,950 workers. The Agriculture Department must confirm compliance with the board within five days.
Further investigations will determine whether the mass layoffs were ultimately unlawful.
The USDA has not yet responded to requests for comment.
This marks the first successful challenge—at least in the preliminary stage—against the Trump administration’s mass firing of thousands of probationary federal workers.
Similar terminations have occurred across multiple agencies, sparking legal battles in federal courts and before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent body within the executive branch that Trump has also sought to influence.
Last week, the board temporarily reinstated six probationary employees from various agencies who had been dismissed under Trump.
Meanwhile, courts have recently overturned Trump’s attempts to remove two key officials involved in these cases: Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, who continues investigating the firings, and MSPB board member Cathy Harris.
“The thousands of probationary terminations at USDA appear to have been carried out in a manner inconsistent with federal personnel laws,” Dellinger stated earlier this week. “In most cases, probationary employees may only be terminated if their specific, individual performance or conduct demonstrates that they are unfit for federal employment.”