The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended some employees for signing a petition criticizing agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, according to organizers of the initiative.
Launching the petition was activist group Stand Up For Science. The group was launched in February “in the wake of devastating cuts to federal research funding and infrastructure, unprecedented government censorship of scientific work and targeted attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility,” according to its website.
Stand Up For Science wrote in the letter Zeldin is responsible for “undermining public trust” in the agency, while “ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters.” It continued by alleging Zeldin is “promoting a culture of fear, forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being.”
“Your decisions and actions will reverberate for generations to come,” the petition reads. “EPA under your leadership will not protect communities from hazardous chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but instead will increase risks to public health and safety.”
The petition received 620 signatures from EPA employees and “concerned citizens.” Petition organizers acknowledged, however, the agency launched an investigation into employees suspected of signing the document. The employees were suspended last week.
“We’re honored to be chosen by the brave heroes at the EPA to host their public Declaration of Dissent here,” Stand Up For Science wrote via its website. “We are also aware that some signatories have received emails placing them on administrative leave.”
About 140 employees received messages from the agency informing them of their suspension, CNN reported. Around 170 named employees signed the letter to Zeldin, it said. The employers were told they had been placed in a “temporary, non-duty, paid status,” basically administrative leave, for the next two weeks while the agency investigates, an email obtained by the Associated Press said.
The EPA staffers signed the letter using their official titles and agency positions, the EPA said, adding that it had no patience for the employees’ actions.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” it wrote.
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