Dozens of employees at the U.S. Education Department were put on paid administrative leave in response to President Donald Trump’s order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union that represents hundreds of workers in the agency.
It’s unclear how many workers were put on leave or for what reasons, said Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. The majority of employees placed on leave do not work in DEI initiatives and span all branches of the agency, she said, from an office that sends billions of dollars to K-12 schools to an office that enforces civil rights laws.
The shakeup comes as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, pushes to cut programs and federal workers at departments across the government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development.
A DOGE team was working at the Education Department on Monday to implement Trump’s executive orders and agenda, said Madison Biedermann, an Education Department spokesperson.
The department did not immediately comment on the personnel changes and would not say how many employees were placed on leave.
At least 55 Education Department workers received an email Friday saying they were being put on paid leave effective immediately pursuant to Trump’s executive order. It wasn’t being done for “any disciplinary purpose,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The Associated Press.
Those placed on leave lost access to their government email accounts and were told not to report to the office. They include a range of staff members and managers across the department, which employs more than 4,000 workers in Washington and regional offices across the country.
Most of those on leave appear to have taken a voluntary diversity training seminar offered by the department, Smith said. The Diversity Change Agent program has been promoted by the agency for years, including during Trump’s first term in office.
Graduates of the two-day program were expected to serve as role models and help improve the department’s “capacity to attract and retain a diverse workforce,” according to an internal email from 2019 obtained by the AP.
Smith said hundreds of employees have taken the training, but it was unclear if all of them were placed on leave. She said many people were under the impression the training was strongly encouraged or required.
“It seems unfair to encourage or require people to take a training and then four or five years later place them on administrative leave,” Smith said.
Some current employees who are on leave said the action could disrupt the agency’s core work, including the management of federal student loans and the FAFSA form for student financial aid. The workers spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., a former teacher and member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Trump is “purging” employees for taking a training course that his administration encouraged them to take.
“This won’t help our kids learn or even save us money,” Murray said on the social media site X. “He’s just breaking services people rely on.”
Trump’s order called for all DEI staff in the federal government to be put on paid leave and eventually laid off. It’s part of a broader crackdown on diversity programs that the Republican president says are racist.
Trump campaigned on a promise to shut down the Education Department, which he says has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” He said the agency’s power should be turned over to states and schools.
