The National Science Foundation (NSF) is reinstating most of the probationary employees that it laid off while following directions from the Trump administration to cut those employees from its workforce.
Probationary staffers at the agency were laid off amid slashes to the Federal workforce after the White House issued an executive order in February that instructed Federal agencies to make “reductions in force” – more commonly known as layoffs.
An NSF spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk that the agency received guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) last week that allows NSF to “retain probationary employees who have an identified disability, are veterans, or are military spouses.” The agency said that processes to reinstate the probationary workers began immediately.
NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF “ordered the immediate reinstatement of terminated probationers with backpay and no break in service based on updated guidance from OPM and the Federal Courts,” according to the agency.
A Federal court upheld a temporary restraining order (TRO) against OPM in a decision late last week to block its orchestration of Federal agency firings of their probationary employees, finding that OPM’s actions were likely unlawful according to language in the decision.
A separate stay order from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) – an independent quasi-judicial agency that primarily handles appeals from Federal employees regarding adverse employment actions – halted the firing of six probationary employees across several executive agencies for 45 days while the Office of Special Counsel investigates the grounds of the layoffs and whether they were lawful.
Probationary workers generally have less than two years of service in their current positions and have the weakest job protections. While Federal code allows Federal employees to be fired at will, it also requires that the person’s supervisors must show that the employee’s work performance or conduct is insufficient for continued employment.
On Feb. 18, 170 NSF staff members were laid off – 84 of which were intermittent experts, according to the statement from NSF, and were working with the agency on a short-term basis. Eighty-six employees were classified as probationary employees, of which 84 are being reinstated.
“Every NSF employee makes important contributions to the NSF mission and the national science, engineering, and technology enterprise everyday,” NSF said in a statement to MeriTalk. “NSF welcomes the return of our probationary employees who will help ensure the United States remains the global leader in scientific discovery and innovation.”
