Job Firings Reversed For Some Workers At Alexandria's National Science Foundation

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Alexandria-based National Science Foundation has reversed some of its firings following a Friday court ruling on probationary employees.

The National Science Foundation said 84 of the 170 fired employees are being reinstated. On Feb. 18, 170 National Science Foundation workers were fired, including 86 probationary employees and 84 experts. That resulted from an executive order from President Donald Trump seeking federal workforce reductions as part of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency's work.

The independent federal agency changed course when receiving new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management last week, a National Science Foundation spokesperson said. The guidance indicated agencies could keep probationary employees with an identified disability, as well as veterans and military spouses. A federal judge's ruling last week is temporarily halting the widespread firings of probationary federal employees.

That led the National Science Foundation to immediately address the probationary employee firings. According to the spokesperson, National Science Foundation's director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan ordered the reinstatement of probationary employees with back pay and no break in service.

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

On Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management further revised its guidance to say it is "not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions regarding probationary employees and that the decision-making power lies with the agencies.

Congress created the National Science Foundation in 1950 as an independent federal agency. The foundation supports science and engineering in the U.S. largely by making grants for research. The National Science Foundation provides key direction for the future of science research, accounting for about a quarter of federal support for research to college and universities. The National Science Foundation is also one of the major federal employers based in the City of Alexandria.