Washington DC - President Donald Trump's attempts to fire 6,000 Department of Agriculture (USDA) workers has been at least temporarily thwarted after an independent federal board ruled they be reinstated.

The US Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) issued the order in response to legal challenges to Trump's attempts to radically downsize the civil service, CNN reports.

The firings were directed almost entirely towards probationary workers at the USDA, defined as employees who had held their position for a year or less.

The MSPB defines its role as protecting the federal workforce "against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices."

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An appeal to the MSPB claimed that mass layoffs introduced by the Trump administration were unlawful based on the terms by which government employees can be dismissed.

A forestry technician who lost his job on February 13 led the case, arguing that he had only ever received positive feedback and had never been accused of performance issues – which is what the Trump administration has used as justification for the mass firings.

The board agreed with the argument and reinstated at least 5,950 probationary employees. A special council will now investigate further and seek answers to legal questions surrounding the layoffs.

If upheld, the MSPB's ruling could prove significant for tens of thousands of federal workers who have been laid off by the Trump administration in recent weeks across other areas of the government.