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By Leah Douglas and Valerie Volcovici
(Reuters) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has fired previously reinstated probationary workers after an appeals court on April 9 cleared the way for the Trump administration to fire thousands of employees, according to five sources familiar with the situation.
The agency, which sits within the Department of Commerce, fired more than 800 employees on February 27, one of many federal agencies to fire probationary workers as President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk seek to shrink the federal workforce.
The employees were then reinstated on March 17 to administrative leave, during which they were paid but not permitted to work, in line with a federal court order that blocked the probationary worker firings.
"The Department is reverting your termination action to its original effective date," said a memo from John K. Guenther, the Department of Commerce's acting general counsel, sent to the affected employees on Thursday and seen by Reuters.
Firings at NOAA caused disruption in recent weeks to the nation's fishing industry, which relies on its scientists for assessments of how many fish are available to be caught and other scientific work.
The agency last week moved to reclassify some of its career workforce to a job category that makes them easier to fire.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates)
