"Staffers were suspended or fired for signing an open letter excoriating the Trump administration for its treatment of EPA science and workers."
"EPA employees who publicly excoriated the Trump administration — and were later reprimanded by the agency — did not run afoul of ethics rules, according to agency officials.
Ethics staff at EPA found last summer that employees who signed an open dissent letter were within their rights to do so, internal emails show. Nevertheless, the agency suspended most and fired some, a controversial move seen as silencing their criticism and is now being challenged by litigation.
The EPA “Declaration of Dissent” went live online June 30 last year, taking President Donald Trump’s team to task for its treatment of the agency’s science and staff. Hundreds of employees, many named with their job titles, signed the letter."
