Federal workers are not happy that Donald Trump’s mass layoffs are targeting people of color and women, as part pf the administration’s anti-DEI efforts. The workers have now filed a class action lawsuit against the administration. According to NBC News, the ACLU of D.C. is representing the workers. Scott Michelman, the legal director of ACLU-D.C., thinks, “Targeting hard-working civil servants because they are associated with an idea the government dislikes violates the First Amendment.” He added, “President Trump can’t drag us back to a dark chapter in history where the government targeted people simply for their views or values.”
During a press release, Michelman said, “The decision to go after people for DEI work they are no longer doing shows the administration’s true motive: to punish employees who they think hold values that clash with the president’s extremist agenda.”
The federal workers are arguing that their First Amendment rights were breached when they were laid off over claims that they were taking part in pro-DEI stances. The civil workers also added that Donald Trump‘s administration is targeting non-White men and women for termination and assessment through anti-DEI efforts. They argued that the executive order violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.”
The lawsuit is now being processed through to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, a federal entity, which reviews appeals of terminations or disciplinary actions. USA Today reported that the Trump administration has already responded to the federal workers’ complaint.
“Class Action Lawsuits Should Be Filed Against Trump, Vought, Doge!” Federal Unions and their fired and laid off workers should unify and file a class action lawsuit post haste! I have never seen anything like this! So, cruel! Heartless! Yet, karna is real! Boomerang!
— Maceo Leon Thomas (@maceo_thomas) March 8, 2025
“Protecting the civil rights and expanding opportunities for all Americans is a key priority of the Trump Administration, which is why he took decisive actions to terminate unlawful DEI preferences in the federal government,” the administration said.
Previously, Sheria Smith, a Harvard graduate civil rights attorney who got fired from the Department of Education, also criticized the President’s anti-DEI actions. She stated that out of 1,300 employees who were laid off, many were Black and women, emphasizing the biased terminations by Secretary Linda McMahon.
During an interview with theGrio, Sheria said, “Earlier in the year, in January, they started putting people on leave for suspected DEI activity. 77 of our members were placed on leave, and none of those people actually worked in diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Texan Sheria Smith, President of @AFGENational Local 252, was just FIRED from @usedgov along with 1,300 other professionals.
We won’t stand for it! Public education is a top priority for Americans, but Trump & Musk are slashing DOE to give billionaires another handout! #FireElon pic.twitter.com/MMvuxoNp8I
— Texas AFL-CIO (@TexasAFLCIO) March 12, 2025
She added, “They were loan officers, they were IT professionals, they were civil rights attorneys, but of the 77, 70 of them were women, and of the 77, 30 of them were Black.”
“I believe…50 were people of color. And they were placed on leave as early as January 31st. To this day, the agency has not explained to us why they were placed on leave, what suspected DEI activity they actually had.”
Kelly Dermody, one of the lawyers representing the federal workers, said, “It is an outrage that their ability to serve the American people has been compromised through a misguided assault on such American values as inclusion and fairness.”
Despite multiple lawsuits, Trump’s anti-DEI efforts seem to have received the court’s approval, putting the policies in action, for now.
