EPA fired at least 8 probationary employees who signed dissent letter, overriding internal First Amendment warning

On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began firing employees who had signed a "declaration of dissent" — a public letter sent to Administrator Lee Zeldin two months earlier criticizing the Trump administration's direction of the agency. The declaration, signed publicly by hundreds of EPA workers in June 2025, argued that Zeldin's policies were reversing scientific progress, undermining public trust in the agency, and endangering public health and the environment. The first wave of terminations specifically targeted at least eight employees still in their one-year probationary periods — a choice that stripped them of their standard right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Before the firings proceeded, an EPA assistant general counsel warned the agency in writing that the disciplinary actions carried "significant legal risk" because the declaration letter was "likely protected speech under the First Amendment." The agency had already moved to suspend approximately 140 employees who signed the letter without pay. Internal EPA documents later obtained and published by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) confirmed the agency received and disregarded its own lawyer's First Amendment warning before proceeding with terminations.

The targeted employees had signed the declaration on their own time, not during working hours and not using agency resources. Employee unions and whistleblower advocacy organizations condemned the firings as unlawful retaliation. The firings extended the EPA's broader pattern of removing scientific and technical staff under Zeldin, coming weeks after the agency eliminated its entire Office of Research and Development in July 2025.

Updates

2026-06-30 — Seven fired probationary employees filed First Amendment lawsuits [4]

On the one-year anniversary of the declaration of dissent, seven of the fired probationary EPA employees filed federal lawsuits alleging First Amendment retaliation. The plaintiffs, represented by Democracy Forward and law firm James & Hoffman, sought reinstatement and back pay. Twenty-one Senate Democrats wrote to Zeldin calling for reversal of the adverse actions and reinstatement of terminated workers, stating that "speaking the truth is not a fireable offense."