The Merit Systems Protection Board, an agency that hears appeals from federal employees when they are fired or disciplined, on March 5 told the USDA that it must temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary workers who were fired as part of President Donald Trump's cuts to the federal workforce.

Wisconsin had 264 employees with the USDA who had served two years or less, according to federal data from September.The Office of Special Counsel had argued that the firings of probationary staff at the USDA violated regulations and laws that govern “reductions in force.