Federal Managers Association

In the News

• The Trump administration paid these employees not to work for more than a year. It just called them back

• Some employees sidelined for their diversity and inclusion jobs received a one year, stress-ridden sabbatical, but are now returning to similar jobs.

  Eric Katz, Government Executive

  In February 2025, about a month after President Trump began his second term in office, the Interior Department notified a few dozen employees that it was involuntarily placing them on paid leave and they were no longer permitted to conduct any government work.

  They would remain in that status for more than a year. They helped out at their kids’ schools, completed home projects and exercised more, all while collecting a paycheck, but they could not engage in official duties.

  Earlier this month, those employees—who Interior targeted for their previous work on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion—returned to their jobs. One year later, it asked those who had not left the agency to come back. 

  To read the full article, click here.

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