National Science Foundation is reinstating fired probationary employees
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National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan testifies before the Senate in Oct. 2023. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced Monday that it is reinstating dozens of probationary employees that the Trump administration fired last month.
Why it matters: The reversal comes after a federal judge ordered the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to rescind instructions to several federal agencies to fire probationary employees.
Driving the news: NSF said in a statement to Axios Monday that it received new guidance from OPM last week allowing the agency to "retain probationary employees who have an identified disability, are veterans, or are military spouses."
- The agency began the process of reinstating those staffers immediately.
- Following the federal court order regarding probationary employees, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan "ordered the immediate reinstatement of terminated probationers with backpay and no break in service based on updated guidance from OPM and the Federal Courts."
- The agency said it "welcomes the return of our probationary employees who will help ensure the United States remains the global leader in scientific discovery and innovation."
Between the lines: U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who halted the firings last week, initially included NSF in his ruling, an amendment to the order issued Friday removed the agency, Fedscoop reported.
- The significance of the omission was not immediately clear. NSF moved to reinstate the fired employees anyway.
- OPM did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Catch up quick: In February, NSF terminated about 10% of the agency's staff.
- About half of the fired employees were probationary staffers.
- 84 of the 86 employees classified as probationary are being reinstated, an NSF spokesperson said.
Zoom in: NSF is among the first federal agencies to reinstate its fired probationary employees en masse.
- Probationary employees of other agencies have been reinstated as part of narrower approaches.
- Last week, the Merit Systems Protection Board temporarily reinstated six fired probationary employees — from six different agencies —through April 10, after Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, requested a review of the firings.
The big picture: The Trump administration continues to target large swaths of the federal bureaucracy, which has seen more than 20,000 probationary workers fired so far, the New York Times reported last week.
Go deeper: Cuts drain federal government of technical expertise
