"An EPA lawyer said the dissent letter “is likely protected speech under the First Amendment” and advised against “retaliatory” moves."
"A top EPA attorney warned of considerable blowback if the agency dished out discipline to employees publicly critical of the Trump administration.
Political leaders at EPA punished those staffers anyway.
Internal emails shed more light on last summer’s episode when the agency was rocked by an open dissent letter that castigated the administration’s disrespect for science and intimidation of staff. EPA suspended many and removed some who signed the letter — a move being appealed by fired staffers.
Yet before the agency sanctioned those employees, one of its own lawyers advised EPA to stand down.
Nate Nichols, assistant general counsel of the employment law practice group at EPA, said “my legal advice” was the agency should not take “personnel actions” or make any move that could be considered “retaliatory” or have “a chilling effect” on other staff."
