Labor

Staffing cuts affecting thousands of employees at the Food and Drug Administration could endanger the agency's ability to protect Americans’ health, according to former top FDA officials and some public health experts.

A federal judge blocked what he calls the “likely unlawful mass terminations” of probationary employees but narrowed the scope of his injunction to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that sued the federal government.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will eliminate 20,000 employees and cut HHS’ regional offices in half as part of what the department calls a “dramatic restructuring.”

Federal agencies including USDA say they’re working to comply with court orders to return probationary employees to their jobs, but instead have placed them on administrative leave with pay, citing logistical challenges in reinstating workers who were fired just a month ago.

HPAI and aMPV, both viral diseases, are simultaneously circulating across the U.S., posing dual threats to the turkey industry. Millions of turkeys have perished as a result, while producers struggle to replenish their supplies as aMPV diminishes breeders’ egg laying. 

In a National Agriculture Day gathering at the USDA Whitten Building, student members of the National FFA Organization, 4-H, National Grange and Agriculture Future of America discussed their generation’s role in growing the future of agriculture together. 

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to rehire probationary employees at six federal agencies, including USDA.

The Agriculture Department says it will pay probationary employees fired last month back pay and work on a “phased plan” for their return to the office.

A federal appeals board has ordered nearly 6,000 USDA employees back to work after they were fired during their probationary periods last month.

The Agriculture Department has notified some building owners of plans to terminate office leases as the Trump Administration seeks to cut back on agency spending.