Last summer, more than 600 EPA employees signed the letter excoriating Zeldin’s leadership of the agency, alleging among other things that his leadership undermined scientific consensus in favor of polluters. Though a majority of signatories did so anonymously, the agency quickly suspended more than 100 employees who publicly signed onto the letter. Ultimately, the agency handed out a range of disciplinary measures, from letters of reprimand to unpaid suspensions and even termination.
Last December, half a dozen of those employees who were targeted with firing challenged their terminations before the Merit Systems Protection Board, with the help of environmental advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. On Tuesday, whistleblower organizations Lawyers for Good Government and the Government Accountability Project announced they would aid in other EPA workers’ cases.