Science agency reinstates some fired employees, includes people with disabilities, veterans, military spouses

Several dozen employees fired from the National Science Foundation amid sweeping cuts to the federal government will be reinstated to their jobs following a court ruling and guidance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the agency said Monday.

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan told staffers in a memo the agency is in the process of rehiring some terminated probationary employees. That includes three specific groups: people with disabilities, veterans and military spouses.

"Last week, we received guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which allows agencies to retain probationary employees who have an identified disability, are veterans, or are military spouses," Panchanathan wrote. "We started the process to reinstate those impacted probationary employees right away."

The OPM is the federal government's chief human resources agency. The NSF on Monday confirmed the reinstatements and said "Every NSF employee makes important contributions to the NSF mission and the national science, engineering, and technology enterprise every day."

Jesus Soriano, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, the union representing more than 1,000 workers at the National Science Foundation, said Monday that around 84 to 86 probationary employees may be rehired.

About 10% of the NSF staff was fired last month, Soriano said. 

The announcement comes after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from its mass firing of probationary federal employees, a group that also represents some of the newest hires and those put on probationary status after being promoted into new positions.

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern California District said Thursday the mass firings were likely unlawful and ordered the OPM to stop the action. Similar to other federal government agencies, the NSF previously fired probationary employees as part of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) strategy to reduce the size of the federal workforce. 

Panchanathan added in the Monday memo that the fired NSF employees will also get back pay and no break in service. Before the firings, the NSF had about 2,100 workers in permanent, temporary, and contract positions. A majority of them work at the NSF's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. 

"This is welcome news to all of us," Panchanathan wrote. "We recognize that these actions have had a significant impact to staff and all of you."

Soriano, the NSF union representative, said Monday's announcement was well received.

"AFGE Local 3403 looks forward to the prompt reinstatement of the hardworking scientists and administrators that were illegally terminated," said Soriano, a program director for the NSF Partnerships for Innovation initiative, which helps provide funding to academic and nonprofit research. "America cannot remain a global leader unless we invest in science, technology and innovation."