EPA starts layoffs of environmental justice employees
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its staffing shakeup on 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 regulation s, including key tenets of the Clean Air Act, and agency 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 mosts 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.'
NBC News acquired a copy of a memorandum sent to an employee who received notice of the reduction in force. The memorandum says EPA's reduction in force will take effect on July 31, 2025.
"President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people. Part of this mandate includes the issuance of an Executive Order that directs the critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy to empower American families, workers, taxpayers and our system of government itself," the memorandum says. "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time."
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