The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) issued an order on March 5 that blocks – at least for 45 days – actions by the Agriculture Department since mid-February to fire nearly 5,700 of the agency’s probationary employees – or employees that generally have less than two years on the job.
The order signed by MSPB member Cathy Harris grants a request filed with the board by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
OSC operates as an independent Federal agency that works to protect Federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. MSPB, also an independent agency, exists to protect against prohibited personnel and partisan political practices.
According to the MSPB decision, USDA’s firings of probationary employees were based on letters stating that “the [a]gency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the [a]gency would be in the public interest.”
OSC told MSPB in its stay request that a 45-day stay will “minimize the adverse consequences of the apparent prohibited personnel practice” – the firings of probationary employees – while it further investigates the allegations and the agency’s “systemic action to terminate probationary employees,” the MSPB decision says.
OSC’s stay request to MSPB described the firing of an unidentified “John Doe” employee of USDA who was terminated after receiving a “fully successful” performance review on Jan. 15. USDA, the OSC said, terminated the employee and said that decision was based on the employee’s performance.
MSPB said that during the 45-day period, USDA is required to return the John Doe defendant – and any other probationary employees fired using the same language by the agency – to the positions they held prior to their terminations.
