On Friday evening, the Department of Education placed 55 employees on administrative leave following their participation in a diversity training program initiated during former President Donald Trump’s first administration, NBC News reports.
Those affected include public affairs specialists, civil rights attorneys, program managers, loan regulators, and employees responsible for ensuring that students with special needs receive necessary accommodations. While the employees will continue to receive full pay and benefits, they have been suspended from work-related communications, including email access.
Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, criticized the decision, suggesting it appears to be punitive. “It looks like they’re entrapping people because they encouraged employees to take these trainings and are now possibly using that as grounds for administrative leave,” she said.
The Diversity Change Agent Program, supported under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, aimed to train staff as role models for fostering a diverse workforce. According to a department email, participants were expected to spend part of their official duties improving workforce diversity and retention efforts.
In addition to the Education Department developments, a union representative revealed that over a dozen Department of Energy employees have also been placed on paid leave as part of broader efforts to reduce diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within federal agencies.
Smith claimed employees are being pressured to resign with offers of eight months’ salary and benefits. “It feels like employees are being forced to choose between resigning voluntarily with a payout or facing eventual termination,” she said.
“We have 25 seats available for this course,” an email on the program said. “The Department’s strategic and comprehensive approach to equipping staff with skills in leading a diverse workforce includes the Diversity Change Agent Program. Graduates of this course are expected to serve as role models, spending some of their official duty time performing activities designed to improve the Education Department’s capacity to attract and retain a diverse workforce. This effort is essential to sustaining a clear and effective Department-wide program.”
In addition to these developments at the Department of Education, over a dozen workers at the Department of Energy, many of whom were not directly involved in DEI roles, have been placed on paid leave as part of Trump’s efforts to scale back DEI initiatives within the federal government, according to a union spokeswoman.
