President Trump's executive order to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions has resulted in the leave of at least 50 employees at the Education Department. Contrary to the order's intent, most of these employees were not directly involved in DEI work but had participated in past initiatives, such as diversity training or affinity groups. This widespread purge suggests the administration aims to remove anyone associated with DEI, not just specific roles. Similar actions have occurred across federal agencies, with websites removing DEI language, the cessation of cultural celebrations like Black History Month, and the removal of DEI-themed artwork. Employment experts express concern that these actions will hinder the enforcement of civil rights laws.
By Laura Meckler, Hannah Natanson and Julian Mark, The Washington PostThe Education Department headquarters in Washington.
The effort is not limited to the Education Department. In Trump’s first two weeks in office, the drive to rid the federal government of anything associated with diversity or equity has ricocheted throughout federal agencies. Of the changes to federal agency websites the Trump administration has made in its first days, removing DEI language was the most common alteration, a Washington Post analysis of webpages within 14 Cabinet-level agencies has found.
At the Energy Department, more than a dozen employees in one of the agency’s regional “culture” offices were put on administrative leave, but only three of them held DEI roles, according to three Energy Department staffers and personnel logs obtained by The Post. the union is aware of only two of the 50 people they know were affected who are in jobs tied to diversity. They worked on presidential initiatives in the Biden administration that Trump rescinded in his anti-DEI executive order. Smith and others at the department believe that the total number of employees put on leave so far is more than 100.
Employees were told that their pay and benefits would continue but that they were not to work and that their email access was suspended “pursuant to the President’s executive order on DEIA and further guidance from OPM.” Bussell, a citizen of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, does not know if it was one of these factors - or that she works with Native American programs - that got her targeted.At first she was upset. Now she’s angry. “The people who know me at the department and know my work ethic all value me,” Bussell said.
Of the 50 employees the local union knows have been placed on leave, the majority were part of the diversity change agents program, said Smith, the local’s president.
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