America's National Science Foundation Workers Fired In Bulk By Trump Now Reinstated

The US government's National Science Foundation has reinstated most of its cadre of probationary employees after laying them off en masse last month. 

The decision to bring them back comes in the wake of a California federal court ruling [PDF] that found similar government layoffs – which stemmed from a cost-cutting executive order by President Donald Trump, and carried out by Uncle Sam's HR policy outfit, the Office of Personnel Management – were made beyond the OPM's authority and thus unlawful.

That's the same exec order that led to widespread workforce cuts across the federal government, steered by Elon Musk's Trump-blessed DOGE unit and the OPM, the latter of which is primarily supposed to just set policies and standards rather than hire and fire people directly.

Referring to Friday's ruling by our old pal Judge William Alsup, as well as a rethink by the OPM on its handling of workers, the NSF told The Register it decided to reinstate terminated probationary staff "based on updated guidance from the OPM and the federal courts."

"NSF Director Dr Panchanathan ordered the immediate reinstatement of terminated probationers with backpay and no break in service," a spokesperson told us.

Of the 170 folks in total dumped on February 18 from the NSF, 86 were classified as probationary, and we're told 84 are being reinstated. The remaining 84, all part-time scientific experts, appear to not be included in the reinstatement. The foundation, a key federal organization that oversees the allocation of public funds for breakthrough scientific studies and the development of cutting-edge technology in America, had roughly 1,500 employees and 200 scientists from research institutions in temporary positions.

Our probationary employees ... will help ensure the United States remains the global leader in scientific discovery and innovation

"Every NSF employee makes important contributions to the NSF mission and the national science, engineering, and technology enterprise everyday," the foundation told us. "NSF welcomes the return of our probationary employees who will help ensure the United States remains the global leader in scientific discovery and innovation."

We do wonder if previous confusion over the length of probationary periods for NSF employees has been cleared up as part of the OPM's new guidance and in light of Alsup's position.

As we reported previously, NSF workers we spoke to told us they signed employment contracts that included a one-year probationary period. This period was incorrect, the OPM declared before the cuts, as NSF jobs are considered an "excepted" service, which have a two-year probation period, rather than "competitive" roles, which are subject to a one-year rule. Thus people's probation periods should have been longer, at two years, according to the HR wonks.

That's important because at least some of the workers who were cut thought they were out of their one-year probationary period and would be safe from the ax; folks on probation were primarily targeted by DOGE and the OPM. In the end, they weren't out of probation, according to the OPM, and weren't safe at all.

The OPM didn't respond to questions on that matter, though Judge Alsup did acknowledge in his order that "probationary employees are those who have served less than one year in the competitive service or less than two in the excepted service."

Here's where things get more complex. His ruling initially said the cuts at NSF were unlawful, but then issued an amendment indicating the foundation wasn't covered by his decision that found the OPM-directed probationary terminations were "illegal, invalid and must be stopped and rescinded." It appears the foundation is still set to reinstate staff regardless of the language in the temporary restraining order approved by Alsup against the layoffs.

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Judge Alsup's decision explained that the OPM overstepped its authority by directing, rather than advising, federal agencies to terminate all probationary employees with minimal exceptions. According to the ruling, the NSF HR team was asked by employees whether they had negotiated for fewer cuts, and were told the foundation didn't have the option.

"There was no limited discretion. This is not a decision the agency made. This is a direction we received," court documents read, quoting an NSF official who said the foundation's intent was to retain all of its probationary employees but was overridden by the OPM. 

Court documents also explained that the OPM gave agencies, including the NSF, a template letter to provide to terminated staff indicating they were being let go due to poor performance. As we reported previously, employees at the NSF who were caught up in the February 18 cuts disputed those performance claims, and it appears the court was able to explain why they were told such.

According to testimony included in the judge's decision, IRS officials directed to use the template had to get permission from the DOGE-driven OPM to make even small edits to the form letter. 

"No statute — anywhere, ever — has granted OPM the authority to direct the termination of employees in other agencies," Judge Alsup said. 

The OPM will have a chance to argue its case, though. An evidentiary hearing is set for March 13, though Alsup has indicated he believes the OPM's arguments are likely to fail. 

"Plaintiffs have presented real harms, detailed above, to their organizations, their members, and their missions, while OPM has not provided a substantive opposition," the judge explained.

Reinstated? It's news to them

The Register reached out to probationary NSF staff we spoke to for our previous coverage to get their reactions on being reinstated. No one wanted to comment in depth, and the reason is pretty clear: Apparently, reports like these are where staffers in limbo are finding out that they've been given their old jobs back.

The ongoing, en masse termination ... has sown significant chaos

When asked how or when it planned to inform probationary employees of their status, the NSF declined to answer. 

In the meantime, it's just a bit more confusion being tossed into the chaos engine that is the Trump administration's agenda.

As many as 200,000 probationary employees across the federal government could be cut at the OPM's direction, according to court documents, and tens of thousands already have been. Many of those may be returning once someone lets them know they can, of course. We recall that the White House scrambled to claw back staff fired Thursday from the National Nuclear Security Administration.

"The ongoing, en masse termination of probationary employees across the federal government's agencies has sown significant chaos," Judge Alsup said in his decision. Their reinstatement, apparently, isn't being done in any less chaotic of a manner. 

Given the state of things, it would be entirely unsurprising if some decided to turn their old job down for the hope of greater stability elsewhere. ®