The Trump administration said to restore nearly 6,000 USDA workers

Thousands of employees in the agriculture department who were dismissed last month must be restored in their old posts for at least 45 days, a council that manages federal disputes commissioned on Wednesday.

Licensed employees were on a probation status and relatively new in their positions, swept away in the thrust of the Trump administration to quickly reduce the size of the federal workforce in part by targeting these types of workers. Probation employees have fewer public service protections than other government employees who have been in their work longer, and were seen by President Trump and Elon Musk, the technological billionaire leading the effort to reduce workforce, as the easiest to shoot.

Nevertheless, there are rules that agencies must follow during the dismissal of probationary employees, including a requirement that managers document details when they lighten poor performance.

Cathy Harris, president of Merit Systems Protection Board, the administrative body where employees can call on unfavorable actions, said in her order on Wednesday that she had “reasonable reasons” to believe that agencies that had dismissed probationary workers had violated a law that dictates appropriate personnel practices.

Currently, the decision of the Board of Directors only applies to provision employees of the Department of Agriculture who were dismissed on February 13, estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 people.

The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

The ordinance indicates that the Board of Directors could rule in favor of other dismissed probation employees if the special council office, which advanced the case of the Department of Agriculture, produces similar evidence that other agencies have also violated staff laws.