New lawsuits challenge retaliation against EPA employees fired after signing Declaration of Dissent
Lawsuits come as 21 Senate members sign onto letter demanding Administrator Zeldin reverse firings, disciplinary actions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year after more than a hundred of Environmental Protection Agency employees took the extraordinary step of releasing a Declaration of Dissent to publicly warn that the agency’s mission was being undermined, AFGE Council 238 announced Tuesday a major escalation in the fight to defend those workers’ constitutional rights.
Seven AFGE Council 238 members are challenging their unlawful firing in parallel lawsuits, alleging that their retaliatory dismissal violated their First Amendment rights. The federal employees were signatories to a public letter dissenting to the Trump-Vance administration’s destructive agenda, and though each signed the letter on personal time and in their personal capacities, EPA leadership ignored internal legal advice and fired the employees in retaliation for their First Amendment-protected speech. The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward and James & Hoffman, P.C.
The seven employees bringing the suits – Claire Balani, Lane To, Alexis Wright, Andreas Harris, Alexander Cole, Stephanie Eytcheson, and Anna Laird – each joined more than 100 colleagues in June 2025 in signing a public letter coordinated by “Stand Up for Science” that spoke out against the politicization of the EPA, the erosion of science-based decisionmaking at the agency, and attacks on the career civil service by agency leadership. The EPA subsequently suspended and then fired each employee, even though EPA’s Ethics Office concluded that “there is no ethics concern” and that “the employees [who signed the Declaration of Dissent] are simply exercising their first amendment rights to express their opinions and… are not intentionally misusing their federal positions to bolster their opinions.” Each of the seven employees was considered “probationary” based on the timing of their hire, which deprives them of the legal right to appeal their terminations to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
“One year ago, over a hundred of EPA employees did something extraordinarily brave: they spoke out to defend science, public health, and the EPA’s mission. For that, they were punished. But they are not standing alone,” said Justin Chen, President of AFGE Council 238. “From this lawsuit to growing support in Congress, the momentum is on the side of these workers. AFGE Council 238 will keep fighting until every employee is vindicated and every federal worker knows they can exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of retaliation.”
The lawsuit comes alongside growing Senate pressure on EPA leadership. Today, 21 members of the Senate, led by Senator Van Hollen, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding that the agency reverse the firings and disciplinary actions against Declaration of Dissent signers, citing evidence that employees’ constitutional and whistleblower rights were violated. The congressional letter calls on Zeldin to reverse all firings and disciplinary actions against Declaration of Dissent signers, noting recent evidence that EPA officials proceeded with punishment despite internal legal advice concluding the employees’ speech was protected under the First Amendment.
The legal actions today come as the Trump administration continues a sweeping campaign to hollow out the EPA and intimidate the federal workforce through mass layoffs, workforce reductions, attacks on collective bargaining rights, and policies that discourage employees from speaking out. Most recently, the administration proposed a government-wide nondisclosure agreement that could chill protected speech by federal employees. Together, these actions threaten not only the rights of federal workers, but the EPA’s ability to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment.
Today’s lawsuits build on earlier legal action brought on behalf of retaliated employees, including whistleblower retaliation complaints filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel challenging the agency’s unlawful actions against workers who exercised their constitutional and statutory rights.
To read the complaints filed today, please click here and here.
To read the Senate letter, please click here.