Fired Wisconsin USDA Workers Could Be Reinstated Following Board Ruling
Federal board orders reinstatement of roughly 6,000 USDA probationary employees who were fired.
United States Department of Agriculture building. Photo by Michael Kranewitter, (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Fired U.S. Department of Agriculture workers in Wisconsin are weighing their next steps after a federal board reinstated thousands of the agency’s probationary employees on Wednesday.
The Merit Systems Protection Board ordered the USDA to reinstate around 6,000 probationary staff for 45 days as an investigation continues into firings on or after Feb. 13. The board handles internal disputes and complaints from federal workers.
Jules Reynolds, a fired USDA employee in Madison, said she had not yet heard anything from the agency. Reynolds worked as a program coordinator for the Soil Health Alliance for Research and Engagement, or SHARE, initiative at the Dairy Forage Research Center. While the order feels like a “huge win” for federal workers, she said fired employees like her face a great deal of uncertainty.
“I don’t know how it’s going to play out in the days to follow,” Reynolds said. “If I was to be reinstated, it just seems sort of like a logistic nightmare.”
If reinstated, Reynolds said it remains unclear whether she would be terminated after 45 days as the Trump administration has directed agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions” in its workforce.
Reynolds said it feels like a “bad roller coaster ride” that not only affects her, but the center’s ongoing work to conduct research and outreach to farmers.
“That’s certainly not helping research projects gain traction, or outreach with farmers,” Reynolds said. “It’s not helping our work actually proceed.”
Jules Reynolds received an email on Feb. 13 that notified of her immediate termination as a program coordinator for SHARE at the Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison. Photo courtesy of Jules Reynolds
While she feels strongly about supporting that work, Reynolds and others also want to understand their rights. She added that she’s now scheduled to pick up bartending shifts in the next couple weeks, adding another layer of complexity.
Rob was fired from his job at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, and he requested anonymity as he’s fighting to get his job back. While the order reinstated employees, he said it’s unclear what might come next.
Westby dairy farmer Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said reinstating probationary workers would be good for farm country. He said some farmers have experienced issues with frozen federal funding and have struggled to reach staff to address concerns.
“There’s a need for adequate employee staffing to make sure that we have the program availability for farmers to be able to survive in the economic uncertainty that we’re currently in,” Von Ruden said.
The USDA didn’t answer questions about next steps for complying with the order, the number of workers who may be reinstated in Wisconsin or how the order may be affected by Trump’s directive to prepare for mass layoffs.
Wisconsin had 264 employees with the USDA who had served two years or less, according to federal data from September.
The Office of Special Counsel had argued that the firings of probationary staff at the USDA violated regulations and laws that govern “reductions in force.”
The USDA has five working days to show it’s complying with the order.
Fired USDA workers in Wisconsin may be reinstated after federal board’s order was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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