While the U.S. Department of Agriculture publicly committed to bringing probationary employees laid off last month back to their jobs, a union representative says a Peoria facility is still figuring out exactly how that works.
The Peoria Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, locally known as the “Ag Lab,” was one of hundreds of USDA facilities struck by worker dismissals in mid-February.
Across the country, nearly 6,000 employees in roles from scientist to secretary were released from the federal agency as part of efforts by the Trump Administration to improve government efficiency. Those included approximately 20 employees at the Ag Lab.
The Merit Systems Protection Board [MSPB], an independent federal board essentially functioning as an internal court system for federal employees with government complaints, issued a 45-day stay on the terminations last week. The stay includes a five business day deadline.
On Monday, the USDA issued a statement committing to returning probationary employees to “pay status and [to] provide each with back pay, from the date of termination,” no later than Wednesday.
“The Department will work quickly to develop a phased plan for return-to-duty, and while those plans materialize, all probationary employees will be paid,” the statement said.
Ethan Roberts is union president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3247, which represents dozens of Ag Lab staff. He says the results of the stay so far have been mixed.
“In reality, what the employees are currently experiencing is kind of a mixture of action,” said Roberts.
According to Roberts, some employees received requests to reauthenticate their government credentials in the facilities’ electronic systems. Others heard from supervisors that they’ve been reinstated. Others are told by supervisors that they’ve had their timesheet corrected and are receiving back pay.
“Some have received all three of those communications,” said Roberts. “Some have received none, and then some have received anywhere between one and two.”
Roberts says he’s not surprised there would be some difficulty in the process of getting thousands of federal government employees back to work.
“It appears to me that the USDA is attempting to comply with this order to make sure that all employees are, at a minimum, in pay status, so that they can tell the MSPB that they complied with the order,” said Roberts. “But we don’t know exactly when they will actually be physically back in the office yet.”
The exact language of the order from the MSPB states: “Within five working days of this Order, the agency shall submit evidence to the Clerk of the Board showing that it has complied with this Order.”
Roberts says morale at the Ag Lab was “destroyed” by the layoffs, but work has continued and many of the experiments performed by probationary employees were paused and preserved for their return.
He says the statement from the USDA has alleviated some concerns that, even after the stay, the department may just place the probationary employees on administrative leave, rather than return them to the workplace.
“It looks like, based on their language, that they are actually going to return them to work and that we’re going to be able to see them again,” said Roberts. “That they’re going to be able to continue to serve the American people.”
While there are still many unknowns about the return-to-work process, Roberts says several lawsuits currently making their way through courts would be the most likely way for probationary employees to return long-term.
