EPA starts layoffs of environmental justice employees
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its staffing shake-up Monday, beginning the termination of hundreds of staffers through a "reduction in force" process as it moved other workers to new roles.
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its staffing shake-up Monday, beginning the termination of hundreds of staffers through a "reduction in force" process as it moved other workers to new roles.
Last month, the agency announced a massive rollback of environmental regulations, including key tenets of the Clean Air Act, and Administrator Lee Zeldin promised to drive “a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion."
In February the EPA put some environmental justice staffers on administrative leave and terminated some probationary workers. It also ended remote work and telework for most of its employees.
The agency's latest actions will start the termination process for some 280 workers who were involved with environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Another 175 EPA employees were reassigned to new roles.
“Today, EPA notified diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice employees that EPA will be conducting a Reduction in Force in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Workforce Reshaping Handbook and federal regulations governing RIF procedures,” EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said in an email. “The agency also notified certain statutory and mission essential employees that they are being reassigned to other offices.”
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