EPA must reinstate employees placed on leave for dissent letter, says union

WASHINGTON -Employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently placed on leave after signing a letter critical of the Trump administration's policies should be reinstated, said a union official in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday.

The 139 employees, and hundreds of other EPA staff, had signed the June 30 letter accusing the agency of harmful deregulatory actions and of ignoring science. The agency is undergoing a major reorganization under the directives of President Donald Trump, including staff reductions and elimination of grants and programs, including for environmental justice.

Putting the employees on leave was illegal retaliation and all investigations into the employees and disciplinary action should be stopped, said Justin Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents more than 8,000 EPA employees, in the letter to Zeldin.

"These employees engaged in protected speech on a matter of significant public concern, and their actions are fully protected by federal law and our collective bargaining agreement," Chen said.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agency previously said it has a "zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration's agenda."

(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )