More employees of Environmental Protection Agency They were informed on Wednesday that their works appear in doubt. The main leadership in the EPA held a meeting of all the staff to tell the people that the executive order of President Trump “,End the Dei programs of the Radical Government and wasteful“That he was responsible for the closure of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of the Agency, will probably lead to the lock of the Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights also.
The employees of the EPA DEI office were placed on administrative license on January 22, once the Executive Order entered into force. The employees of the Environmental Justice Office were informed that their department expected a similar written warning as early as Thursday, but it was not clear if all employees will also leave or end immediately.
CBS News has communicated with the EPA to comment.
The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights support the EPA efforts to address the vulnerable communities that the agency has determined that they have been disproportionately affected by environmental pollution And make sure you have equitable access to a healthy environment, as well as to enforce federal civil rights laws.
“There were many rumors all day,” said Matthew Tejada, who was the deputy attachment of the Environmental Justice Office for more than a decade before leaving the EPA in December 2023. “The staff is scared and anxious.”
A current member of the EPA personnel at the Environmental Justice Office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that senior leadership celebrated a two -and -a half hours call on Wednesday to discuss the logistics of the order, but they say the managers They would not have many details. Share until the official notice is issued.
Many in the call were confused and worried. EPA employees have already received the Personnel Management Office “Fork on the road“Email, who offered deferred resignations to anyone who agreed to leave their post before February 6. But this individual received an email warning that it could be finished immediately due to your test status As an employee with less than a year in his current role, which was created under a temporary program of the inflation reduction law with a two -year test period. It is not clear if they will be eligible for the administrative license or will be dismissed immediately.
Approximately 250 people work for the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights at the agency headquarters in Washington, DC, and 10 regional offices throughout the country. The news was especially distressing for Tejada, who worked with many of the staff during his time leading the office, “I hired them all,” he said.
Tejada, now the senior vice president of Environmental Health in the Council for the Defense of Natural Resources, said: “The closure of the Environmental Justice Office will mean more toxic pollutants, dangerous air and insecure water in communities throughout the country that have been more harmed by pollution in the past. ”
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