The Department of Education has set several employees in its offices for administrative leave on Friday, part of a wave of staff and Union representatives say that there are dozens of suspensions in the Agency in clearing Trump’s diversity efforts.
In the letters received by the New York Times, the department informed employees that they would lose access to their email accounts but will continue to receive a remuneration for an indefinite period.
The Department reported guidance from the Personnel Management Office, which had guided the services to submit plans to reject staff related to efforts to diversity, equality and integration by the end of the day on Friday.
Brittany Holder, a spokesman for the US Government Federation, said the Union estimates that at least 50 department officials had been suspended.
The spectrum of the affected people led many of those who had been paid to conclude that they had undergone a government effort to eliminate the initiatives of diversity, despite what they described as little more than superficial contact with the advisers who offer general training. workplace in the workplace.
The move was an early indication that Trump’s officials had begun trying to eliminate any Dei attempts believed to be “disguised” after they had already moved to shutter offices that expressly focused on these efforts earlier in the week. It came as dozens of organizations fought to comply with a mandate issued by President Trump on their first day in their office, guiding them to disassemble the diversity offices and remove the staff linked to them.
However, according to interviews with those placed on leave and people who are familiar with notifications, the department seems to have a wide net, suspending people whose job titles and official duties had nothing to do with Dei and The only obvious exposure to Dei initiatives came the form of teachers encouraged by their administrators. One of the training laboratories that employees speculate may have led to their labeling was carried out more than nine years ago.
It was not immediately clear what criteria the department is used to identify those placed on leave or which of the activities of these workers may fall within the wide order issued by Mr Trump to overthrow the Dei initiatives throughout the federal government. The Personnel Management Note set by the clearance program of diversity programs last month called on employees to report any efforts to “conceal these programs using coded or vague language”.
A department’s representative did not respond to requests for comments.
Subodh Chandra, a lawyer for civil rights representing one of the staff members who licensed the office of the Department of Education for Civil Rights, said his client was “completely embarrassed” by the move. The West Point and a veteran graduate and a veteran, was appointed to the Council of Employment, involvement and diversity and integration formed under the previous administration of Mr Trump by his politicians, Kimberly Richey and Kenneth Marcus. A former prosecutor received “perfect” ratings in the last three ratings, Mr Chandra said in his role as a two -state regional office overseeing.
The committee continued under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., but has not met in December, Mr Chandra said, and certainly not since Trump took over.
“My client served his country with a distinction in the US military during and after 9/11,” Mr Chandra said. “It happens to be a white male, although this should have no difference, whether or another is a victim of a hunting McCarthyist. It should not be a victim of retaliation to contradict discrimination against anyone. And I hope the administration will Stop the wrong prosecution of those who serve our country faithfully.
Another employee, who spoke about the condition of anonymity due to the detachment of their position, said that the training of diversity were considered as a routine around the department, with a two -day session pulling about 300 people for several years.
Several staff have said that Denise L. Carter, who was named Secretary of Education, until Mr Trump’s candidate was confirmed to lead the department, urged colleagues to attend sessions, offering them at no cost for the participants.
Recipients of letters who received a notice of suspension included members of the staff who worked at the Department’s Student Aid Office and others in the Civil Rights Office. The department also informed all employees at the Political Rights Office that had recently joined and were in a test period that their positions would be revised to determine their necessity.
The letters told employees that the decision to place them on leave was “not for any disciplinary purpose”, and were “according to the president’s executive order”. But they did not specify how long the license would last or why these employees had been identified for suspension.
Through its first two weeks, Trump’s administration has repeatedly stated that it would temporarily stop certain programs and violate some federal workers, while conducting more comprehensive reviews that could update staff reductions and bureaucratic changes. But he has done so by accident, leading to involuntary disorders and anxiety in many federal workers.
