The Agriculture Department will rehire thousands of probationary employees who were terminated in February, effective Wednesday, and will provide back pay for the weeks they were away from the agency, officials said.
In a statement Tuesday, the USDA said it will “work quickly” on a phased-in plan to bring the affected employees back to work, in response to an order from the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board last week. They’ll be paid in the meantime, the agency said.
The USDA hasn’t said exactly how many probationary workers were fired in the Feb. 14 action, but complaints that led to the MSPB ruling put the number at more than 5,000. The Forest Service accounted for around half of those, though some terminations of fire- and timber-related workers were already reversed.
“By Wednesday, March 12, the Department will place all terminated probationary employees in pay status and provide each with back pay, from the date of termination,” the USDA said in a statement. “The Department will work quickly to develop a phased plan for return-to-duty, and while those plans materialize, all probationary employees will be paid.”
