An independent federal board has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to temporarily reinstate close to 6,000 employees fired since Feb. 13, finding reasonable grounds to believe the agency acted illegally in terminating them.
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) issued a stay, ordering the USDA to return the fired workers to their jobs for 45 days while an investigation continues. The MSPB acts as an internal court to consider federal employees' complaints against the government.
The order, from board member Cathy Harris, covers probationary employees who received identical termination letters informing them that, based on their performance, they had not demonstrated that their further employment "would be in the public interest."
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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