EPA employees who were placed on paid administrative leave two months ago for signing a letter of dissent received notices last week of proposed disciplinary action.
The letter had criticized the agency’s leadership for deregulation efforts and for disregarding scientific expertise.
The employees were told in the beginning of July that they would be on paid administrative leave for two weeks while the agency investigated whether they had used agency time or resources to sign the letter.
That leave was extended several times, but on Thursday, over a hundred EPA employees who signed the letter were informed of a proposed two-week unpaid suspension and about 15 were told they’re being fired. That’s according to AFGE Council 238, the union that represents over 8,000 EPA workers nationwide.
The letters said their conduct was described as unbecoming of a federal employee.
“I would not say signing a petition is unbecoming of any American citizen and certainly not a federal employee,” said Lilly Simmons, president of AFGE Local 3428 . Simmons signed the letter, but was not placed on leave, she assumes, because of her status as a union official.
“Signing a petition is part of our First Amendment rights,” Simmons said. “And it is our duty to uphold the mission of the EPA to protect human health and the environment, which is something our current administration is not doing when they roll back clean air regulations when they cancel funding for clean up sites in overburdened communities. It is the responsibility of our staff to speak up so that the public does not suffer.”
Among those given an unpaid two-week suspension was one Boston office employee who asked not to be named, for fear of retaliation.
“In the end, their two-month long investigation found that I did not use Agency time or equipment to sign the letter, so they have decided to throw a vague allegation of 'conduct unbecoming’ at us to see if it sticks,” the employee said.
“This entire investigation has been a waste of my time and taxpayer dollars, and it has hurt the credibility of the agency more than the original declaration of dissent ever could. I’m hopeful that I’ll be back to work soon and get back to safeguarding public health and the environment, but I’m really disappointed that agency leadership has let this investigation go on for so long and seems determined to punish us.”
A spokesperson for the EPA declined to confirm the numbers of employees who were disciplined or the context, saying that the agency does not comment on “individual personnel matters.”
The spokesperson provided a statement 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.”
The disciplinary action comes as the EPA has moved to limit the power of unions to represent the agency’s employees.
“Firing people for doing their jobs is unlawful,” said Simmons. “It would be against our contract, if our contract was being respected by the agency. And it’s against our general due process that people have to do something wrong in order to be punished for it.”
Other EPA employees told GBH News that they support their disciplined colleagues.
“The employees who signed this petition embody true bravery,” said an employee who did not sign the letter and asked not to be named, for fear of retribution.
“To accuse them of ‘conduct unbecoming’ is not only inaccurate — it is absurd,” the person stated. “These employees acted entirely in their personal capacity, and their conduct was both appropriate and principled. At EPA, ‘conduct unbecoming’ typically suggests colleagues can no longer work with someone. Here, the reality is just the opposite: everyone I’ve spoken to is eager to welcome these employees back, stands firmly with them, and is proud of their courage.”
In a written statement, Justin Chen, President of AFGE Council 238 said the disciplinary action was illegal.
“AFGE Council 238 demands that Zeldin immediately restore employment to those fired and revoke any probationary firings, notices of proposed removal, suspension and letters of reprimand,” Chen said. “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.”
