Union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave after taking diversity training during Trump’s first term
Dozens of employees who attended a diversity training course encouraged by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during President Donald Trump’s first term have been placed on paid leave, a union official told NBC News.
Dozens of employees who attended a diversity training course that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos encouraged during President Donald Trump’s first administration have been placed on paid leave as part of Trump’s targeting of DEI programs, a union official told NBC News.
Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents hundreds of Education Department employees, said that at least 55 employees had been placed on leave as of Friday evening and that she expected the number to grow as she learns more.
The affected workers included a public affairs specialist, civil rights attorneys, program manager analysts, loan regulators and employees working to ensure schools accommodate special needs children with individualized education programs.
A letter to the affected employees, obtained by NBC News, said they would continue to receive their full salaries and benefits and would not be required or expected to do any work-related tasks or to come into the office during the leave. It also said their email access would be suspended.
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump at the White House in 2018. Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images file“It looks like they’re entrapping people, because they encouraged people to take these trainings ... and are now maybe using these trainings as a basis to put them on administrative leave,” Smith said.
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