EPA Environmental Justice Staff Face Layoffs Amid Reorganization Plans

EPA staff working on environmental justice were notified of layoffs amid a broader agency reorganization.

• By Stasia DeMarco
• Apr 22, 2025

Employees in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), along with regional environmental justice divisions, were notified this week that their positions will be eliminated or reorganized effective July 31.

The move, part of a broader agency restructuring under Administrator Lee Zeldin, has drawn criticism from environmental groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists.

In a statement released Tuesday, Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union and a former EPA OEJECR official, called the layoffs "hypocritical," noting that many affected staff were responsible for reducing pollution in communities facing disproportionate environmental harm.

“These staffers are working to reduce pollution and toxins in the communities suffering the most harm,” Kumar said. “Scientific data shows that communities overburdened by polluting industries are predominantly low-income, Black, Brown, and Indigenous.”

Kumar accused the Trump administration of prioritizing the interests of polluting industries and said the restructuring signals a broader effort to roll back environmental protections, including a possible weakening of the EPA’s Research and Development Office.

EPA has not yet issued a public statement detailing the reorganization plan or the number of staff affected.