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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
EPA moves to suspend without pay over 100 employees who signed letter | |
of dissent | |
By Ella Nilsen, Andrew Freedman, CNN | |
Updated: | |
3:53 PM EDT, Fri September 5, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to suspend more than 100 | |
staffers who signed against the Trump administration’s policies in | |
July, a representative of the union covering the agency’s staff told | |
CNN on Friday. | |
The EPA previously moved to fire a handful of employees late last week, | |
but now it is taking disciplinary action against more than 130 | |
employees also suspected of signing the letter, the representative | |
said. These employees were sent letters indicating they would be | |
suspended for 14 days without pay. | |
The reason cited in the letters is for “conduct unbecoming of a | |
federal employee,” the representative said, noting that is highly | |
unusual, if not unprecedented, under the circumstances. | |
An EPA spokesperson would not confirm the report or details, saying the | |
agency “does not comment on individual personnel matters.” | |
“These workers bravely voiced concerns about harmful changes at the | |
Agency that threaten the lives of every American. And we know the | |
administration’s motives are not about government efficiency or | |
advancing public safety. Placing these workers on leave and now firing | |
or suspending them months later has wasted over 47,000 work hours and | |
$2 million. This is simply about squashing dissent and preventing | |
workers from protecting American lives,” said Justin Chen, president | |
of the union group AFGE Council 238, in a statement Friday. | |
The EPA placed roughly 140 employees on administrative leave in July, | |
days after they signed about the treatment of federal employees and the | |
Trump administration’s regulations on climate and public health. In | |
the letter, employees criticized the EPA, saying it has strayed from | |
its core mission to protect human health and the environment. | |
The EPA conducted an “administrative investigation” into the | |
employees, who were placed on administrative leave until July 17, | |
according to internal emails viewed by CNN at the time. Some employees | |
were let go last week, but additional staff members were affected on | |
Thursday. | |
On Friday, the agency’s spokesperson also repeated its previous | |
statement on the matter, saying the EPA “has a zero-tolerance policy | |
for career officials using their agency position and title to | |
unlawfully undermine, sabotage, and undercut the will of the American | |
public that was clearly expressed at the ballot box last November. | |
Thankfully, this represents a small fraction of the thousands of | |
hard-working, dedicated EPA employees who are not trying to mislead and | |
scare the American public.” | |
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