Merit Systems Protection Board Grants Reprieve to All USDA Employees, Restoring Employment to More Than 5,000 Federal Workers

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) today announced that it was broadening a previously issued stay to halt the dismissal of all probationary employees at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The decision comes after Democracy Forward’s successful request on behalf of six unlawfully terminated federal employees, in which the MSPB granted a stay.

Democracy Forward and Alden Group, PLLC filed a supplemental request last week, urging the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to broaden its stay request class-wide to include the tens of thousands of probationary employees who were unlawfully terminated by the Trump-Vance administration’s policy in mass firings across federal agencies.

“The Merit Systems Protection Board has again confirmed that the Trump-Vance administration’s firing of tens of thousands of hard-working federal employees is unlawful. We are gratified that this unlawful action has been stayed for USDA employees, and we remain committed to ensuring the tens of thousands of other civil servants receive this same reprieve,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Civil servants are the people we rely on to protect our communities, ensure our food and water are safe, and to deliver essential services. This is about protecting the people who work for the American people. It’s about fairness, stability, and the rule of law. That means protecting the non-partisan civil service from an Administration bent on creating chaos and uncertainty.”

The decision means that thousands of USDA employees who had been unlawfully dismissed can return to their jobs. The decision additionally strengthens the case for protecting all impacted employees and holding agencies accountable for sidestepping civil service protections.

“Our civil service protections exist for a reason—to prevent politically motivated purges that undermine the integrity of our government,” said Rob Shriver, Managing Director of Democracy Forward’s Civil Service Strong. “No federal worker should lose their job by unlawful means. This decision affirms that impacted USDA employees should be judged based on their own job performance and not on the perceptions and biases of an unelected billionaire, and we will continue working until this decision is rightly expanded to cover all civil servants.”

Information about Democracy Forward is available at www.democracyforward.org. Resources for Civil Servants are available at www.civilservicestrong.org.