The Agriculture Department says it will pay probationary employees fired last month back pay and work on a “phased plan” for their return to the office.
The department was responding Tuesday to a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that USDA’s termination of probationary employees likely violated federal personnel law. In the administrative proceeding, USDA said it had axed nearly 6,000 probationary employees.
However, MSPB Chair Cathy Harris said in her ruling that she had “reasonable grounds to believe" the firings violated federal personnel law regarding reductions in force.
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About 200,000 probationary employees across the federal government received letters in mid-February telling them their performance was not serving the public interest, including workers who had received good or no performance reviews. An undisclosed number have already been hired back, including some at USDA.
The plaintiff, identified as John Doe, is a forestry technician in the Forest Service who had only received positive performance reviews.
USDA’s statement said the department would “place all terminated probationary employees in pay status and provide each with back pay, from the date of termination.”
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