The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) on Wednesday ordered the Department of Agriculture to temporarily reinstate all of its nearly 6,000 probationary employees, who were fired by the Trump administration last month.

The order comes as the new Trump administration attempts to restructure the federal government, including by drastically reducing its workforce. The administration previously advised departments to fire probationary employees, but the direction has faced legal challenges.

The new order will allow those Department of Agriculture employees to resume their work for 45 days, The Hill reported.

The board's decision agrees with the Office of Special Counsel, who claimed the employees were not fired for poor performance but for restructuring purposes. The board also agreed with Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger last week in reinstating employees from six different agencies.

“Agencies are best positioned to determine the employees impacted by these mass terminations," Dellinger said in a statement on Wednesday's ruling. "That’s why I am calling on all federal agencies to voluntarily and immediately rescind any unlawful terminations of probationary employees.

“Voluntarily rescinding these hasty and apparently unlawful personnel actions is the right thing to do and avoids the unnecessary wasting of taxpayer dollars," he added. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.