EPA Reinstates Environmental Justice Staff Amid Workforce Turmoil

Dozens of previously sidelined agency staffers are now being recalled but lack access to essential information. Will they be able to do their jobs?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recalled dozens of environmental justice staffers who were previously placed on administrative leave pending possible termination, three former senior agency officials told Inside Climate News.

The recalled staff, whose exact number remains unspecified, are being reassigned to project management roles and other duties across the EPA regional offices.

“Most of the staff are being called back into regional offices, largely to manage the Community Change Grants and to continue other responsibilities such as maintaining relationships with communities, local governments, tribes and state partners,” said Matthew Tejada, former deputy assistant administrator for environmental justice within EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. 

Under the Biden administration, the EPA launched the Community Change Grants program, which, for the first time, provided up to $20 million directly to community organizations to address pollution, infrastructure challenges and climate resilience.

Tejada, who learned of the reinstatements from his agency contacts, estimated the number of recalled staffers to be in the “dozens.”

Adam Ortiz, former EPA regional administrator for Region 3, which includes the mid-Atlantic states, described the recall as disorganized. “Several employees were terminated, then told to return to work. They returned, but none of their computers had access because they had been deleted from the system as terminated employees. In some cases, their immediate supervisors didn’t even know they were back,” Ortiz said.

He added that while some staff have been recalled, many remain on leave. “Some of the probationary employees have been terminated. So it’s a mixed bag,” he said, calling the situation “a chaotic and cruel circus.”

When asked for comment, an EPA spokesperson didn’t confirm or deny the reports of recalled employees. Instead, the agency pointed to a press statement from last month, which announced that 171 DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) and environmental justice staff had been placed on administrative leave.

Previously, Inside Climate News reported that EPA had placed its entire environmental justice workforce on leave while officials in President Donald Trump’s administration haggled over whether to terminate or reassign them. In a Feb. 6 statement, an agency spokesperson said that “168 staffers were placed on administrative leave as their function did not relate to the agency’s statutory duties or grant work.” 

The spokesperson added that the agency was restructuring to ensure it met its mission of protecting human health and the environment. That is exactly the work that EPA’s environmental justice employees had been doing.

David Cash, a former EPA regional administrator for New England, said he has heard from sources across the country that some employees who were put on leave are being asked to return. “I don’t know the scale of it, but it does sound like it’s happening in dribs and drabs,” he said.

He added that while recalling staff is positive in theory, it remains unclear whether any of them will be allowed to do their jobs effectively. “We’ve been hearing that they haven’t been able to manage grants or communicate with the communities they serve,” Cash said. “So while rehiring is encouraging, it doesn’t give me confidence that they’ll be able to carry out their mission to protect air, water and land from pollution.”

Environmental justice programs have been a target of broader attacks on racial equity efforts from the Trump administration. These programs aim to reduce pollution and health disparities, benefiting both communities of color and low-income white communities. 

The upheaval at EPA mirrors workforce reductions at other federal agencies, particularly among employees involved in DEIA initiatives. Many of these cuts are being spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the initiative led by billionaire donor Elon Musk. Musk’s team previously accessed information technology systems at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to investigate DEIA programs and fire employees.

DOGE’s unchecked access to multiple agencies has sowed internal discord, even within the Trump administration. The tension forced Trump to issue a statement from the Oval Office clarifying that agency secretaries, not Musk’s team, should determine staffing decisions.

Since February, DOGE has pushed aggressive workforce reductions across federal agencies in an effort to curtail government spending. However, the abrupt dismissals resulted in the loss of personnel critical to national security and public safety. 

For example, nearly 350 employees were abruptly terminated from the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The firings triggered an immediate reversal, with most staff reinstated the next day. Similarly, layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration affected personnel responsible for radar and navigational systems, forcing urgent rehiring efforts to maintain air safety.

Environmental justice advocates warn that these mass layoffs are not just bureaucratic reshuffling but a dismantling of programs designed to protect vulnerable communities and uphold civil rights. 

​In its December 2024 report, the Environmental Integrity Project warned that proposed budget cuts and policy shifts in Trump’s second term could significantly weaken EPA’s enforcement capabilities. The report highlights that reduced funding and staffing may hinder EPA’s ability to monitor and penalize polluters, potentially leading to increased environmental violations and adverse health effects, particularly in communities already overburdened with pollution.

The mass layoffs have prompted Maryland’s attorney general and the 19 other Democratic attorneys general from across the country to bring lawsuits to stop mass firings of probationary federal employees. 

Cover photo:  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's logo is displayed on a door at its headquarters on March 16, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images