Education Department places 55 employees on paid leave as part of Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle DEI initiatives

• The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has placed 55 employees on paid administrative leave as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
• The action is based on a White House Office of Personnel Management directive issued on Jan. 21, which instructed all federal agencies to take similar measures against DEI-related activities.
• The directive extends to employees who participated in DEI training sessions, potentially affecting hundreds more ED staffers.
• The letter to employees specifies that the administrative leave is not for disciplinary reasons, and many affected employees do not have job titles or duties related to DEI, including civil rights attorneys, grant office staff and members of the artificial intelligence team.
• The move follows an executive order signed by Trump banning DEI programs and a fact sheet directing federal agencies to streamline federal contracting and enhance compliance with civil rights laws, eliminating the requirement for contractors to balance their workforce based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference or religion.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has placed 55 employees on paid administrative leave as the Trump administration dismantles diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government.

According to several reports, the ED informed its employees via letters that their email accounts would be suspended, though they would continue to receive full paychecks for an indefinite period. The directive cites guidance from the White House’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued on Jan. 21, which instructed all federal agencies to take similar actions.

“Effective Jan. 31, 2025, you will be placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits pursuant to the President’s executive order on DEI and further guidance from OPM,” the letter read. “This administrative leave is not being done for any disciplinary purpose.” (Related: Trump signs executive order eliminating funding for schools and colleges with DEI policies.)

The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing the career officials of the department, revealed that at least 55 employees, including senior-level career workers with decades of service, have been affected. The union emphasized that many of these employees do not hold job titles or official duties related to DEI. Instead, they include civil rights attorneys, grant office staff and members of the artificial intelligence team.

Smith also disclosed that the directive extends to employees who attended diversity training sessions, including a two-day seminar required for senior-level employees in 2019 during the first Trump administration.

“Because of the large participation in the 2019 training seminar, we are worried that hundreds more ED staffers could be affected,” Smith said.

Trump has been placing DEI staffers on paid administrative leave since taking office

This case is not isolated in the Education Department.

In January, the Trump administration placed employees in DEI federal offices on paid administrative leave, effective immediately.

In a memo issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Jan. 21, agencies were instructed to notify DEI staffers no later than 5:00 pm EST on Wednesday, Jan. 22 that they were being placed on administrative leave effective immediately as “the agency takes steps to close/end all DEI initiatives, offices and programs.” The memo also directs agencies to remove the offices’ websites and social media accounts and to cancel any DEI-related training.

This move comes just one day after Trump signed an executive order banning DEI programs. The White House also released a fact sheet that same day for an order ending the use of DEI in federal contracting and “directing federal agencies to relentlessly combat private sector discrimination.”

The order directs the Office of Management and Budget “to streamline the federal contracting process to enhance speed and efficiency, reduce costs and require Federal contractors and subcontractors to comply with our civil rights laws” and “bars the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from pushing contractors to balance their workforce based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference or religion.”

Examples of programs involving DEI in major federal agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services‘ Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Policy at the Department of Defense.

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This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

CNN.com 1

CNN.com 2

Brighteon.com