Kyla Bennett, director of science policy for the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), said eliminating the ORD “will not only cripple EPA’s ability to do its own research, but also to apply the research of other scientists. This [reduction in ...

Staffers from the division were notified about the RIF through the public press release, said Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Staff were then notified about an all-staff meeting scheduled for Monday. Bennett said the manner in ...

Kaaa-Swain’s case was the most egregious example identified in Civil Beat’s review of public records, and it is extreme even by national standards. Peter Jenkins, a Maryland-based attorney who has pushed for shorter periods of paid leave for federal employees, said he’s never seen ...

The provision, introduced as part of a government spending bill unveiled Monday, would bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing the findings from a January risk assessment, which found that the sludge contains dangerous amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ( ...

The administration’s move is “not just stupid, it’s evil”, said Kyla Bennett, science director with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), and a former EPA attorney. “Cutting funding into research on how these toxic chemicals get into our food will doom us to ...

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that defends governmental whistleblowers, warned that the case number could surge if a court order blocking widespread agency layoffs is lifted. “MSPB may be heading for the biggest legal trainwreck in history,” said ...

OPM quickly backpedaled on the essay requirement in the wake of a formal complaint by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, saying it would retain the essay questions in the new hiring process but downgrade their importance. Read the PEER Story… ...

Fears that a RIF was imminent spiked after the Supreme Court declined to take up whether President Donald Trump could move forward with a RIF without Congressional approval and sent the matter back down to federal court for adjudication. For more than a month the National Parks ...

Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which has previously represented EPA and other federal employees, said that federal employees have First Amendment rights, which should protect speech that doesn’t harm the agencies they work for ...

Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that defends the rights of civil servants, said the Constitution generally protects the speech of federal workers. “We believe strongly that these federal employees have First ...

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) nonprofit obtained and revealed an EPA document announcing the adoption program. The document announced adoptions for zebrafish and rats from an EPA lab in North Carolina. It states: “Adopt love. Save a life. Our adoption program ...

In a quick turnaround following complaints by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the Office of Personnel Management has softened a requirement imposed in late May that federal job-seekers write four short essays, including an explanation of how they would “help implement ...

PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formally with EPA, said the cuts amounted to the EPA “abandoning its status as a premier scientific organization.” “Scientific research is vital to EPA’s core mission of protecting public health and the ...

Yellowstone National Park’s superintendent disputes a group’s contention the agency has waived $1.2 million in right-of-way fees for a company that is installing 187 miles of fiber -optic cable in the park, recently released documents show. Public Employees for Environmental ...

Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit organization that supports environmental workers and has been tracking these administrative problems, said the errors suggest leadership problems within the agency. “They’re ...

Jeff Ruch, who serves as senior counsel to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, warned that efforts to shed protections for career employees, or make them easier to fire, could result in a significant waste of federal resources, as well as talent. “If they get rid of a ...

By one estimate, there are now over 100,000 federal employees currently on paid administrative leave. Some took the deferred resignation option offered early in the Trump Administration, but about 50% were put on administrative leave involuntarily. Public Employees for Environmental ...

In the documents PEER received in its FOIA request, the Park Service said the fees were dropped because the project was “clearly in the public interest and consistent with the purposes and values of the park area.” PEER argued the fees could only be dropped if the cable was for “ ...

Additionally, the Park Service “will have to spend millions to lay spurs to connect with the cable,” claims Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Yellowstone officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about PEER’s claims, which also question ...

The seminar seemed straightforward enough. Four experts planned to talk about whether artificial grass, which is used on playgrounds and sports fields nationwide, has health risks for children. But January’s seminar never happened, after the four speakers were sued for defamation by ...