Federal Employees Fired Over “DEI Activities” File Complaint

A group of federal employees who were fired for participating in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities have filed a complaint to regain their jobs and their back pay.

Why it matters: The complaint filed Wednesday before the Merit System Protection Board directly challenges President Trump’s anti-DEI purge across the federal government and could be the first step in a class action lawsuit.

Zoom in: The complaint alleges that the mass terminations and other attacks on federal employees who are alleged to have participated in DEI activities violated federal employees’ rights under the First Amendment.

• It also alleges that the Trump administration targeted employees whom it perceived as being associated with DEI, including those who no longer performed any DEI-related activities.
• In addition, the complaint says such targeting demonstrates that the Trump administration sought to punish employees for what the administration perceived as their political views.
• It challenges the gender and racial impacts of the anti-DEI executive orders, which disproportionately singled out federal workers who were not white men for hostility, suspicion, job interference and termination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

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