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Fired EPA employees challenge agency, alleging free speech violations
WORKFORCE RIGHTS/GOVERNANCE
Fired EPA employees challenge agency, alleging free speech violations
Six former EPA employees who signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration are now appealing their subsequent terminations to the MSPB.
Drew Friedman@dfriedmanWFED
December 3, 2025 6:11 pm
3 min read
Former Environmental Protection Agency employees who were fired after signing a letter criticizing the Trump administration are now appealing their dismissals before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The six former EPA employees, who were among roughly 140 workers who signed a “declaration of dissent” in June, argued their firings were not only an illegal response to exercising their First Amendment rights, but also a form of retaliation for “perceived political affiliation,” and executed without cause.
The former employees are represented by attorneys at several law firms in the MSPB case, including the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
“Federal employees have the right to speak out on matters of public concern in their personal capacities, even when they do so in dissent,” Joanna Citron Day, general counsel for PEER, said Wednesday. “EPA is not only undermining the First Amendment’s free speech protections by trying to silence its own workforce, it is also placing U.S. citizens in peril by removing experienced employees who are tasked with carrying out EPA’s critical mission.”
{snip}
Drew Friedman
Drew Friedman is a workforce, pay and benefits reporter for Federal News Network. Follow @dfriedmanWFED
Fired EPA employees challenge agency, alleging free speech violations
Six former EPA employees who signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration are now appealing their subsequent terminations to the MSPB.
Drew Friedman@dfriedmanWFED
December 3, 2025 6:11 pm
3 min read
Former Environmental Protection Agency employees who were fired after signing a letter criticizing the Trump administration are now appealing their dismissals before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The six former EPA employees, who were among roughly 140 workers who signed a “declaration of dissent” in June, argued their firings were not only an illegal response to exercising their First Amendment rights, but also a form of retaliation for “perceived political affiliation,” and executed without cause.
The former employees are represented by attorneys at several law firms in the MSPB case, including the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
“Federal employees have the right to speak out on matters of public concern in their personal capacities, even when they do so in dissent,” Joanna Citron Day, general counsel for PEER, said Wednesday. “EPA is not only undermining the First Amendment’s free speech protections by trying to silence its own workforce, it is also placing U.S. citizens in peril by removing experienced employees who are tasked with carrying out EPA’s critical mission.”
{snip}
Drew Friedman
Drew Friedman is a workforce, pay and benefits reporter for Federal News Network. Follow @dfriedmanWFED