Retaliation against government scientists

Retaliation against government scientists includes the firing, demotion, reassignment, gagging, or public denunciation of career scientific staff whose findings inconvenience leadership. Concrete forms include reassignment of scientists to roles unrelated to their expertise, prohibition on speaking publicly about published research, removal from authorship of agency publications, and the targeted elimination of positions held by scientists who have raised concerns through proper channels. The standard is the linkage between the adverse action and the substance of the scientist's work.