Political leaders at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have told scientists there to apply to new jobs, implying that those who do not may be fired, according to an official with a union representing the agency’s employees. 

“People in ORD [the Office of Research and Development] were told to apply for these positions,” said Joyce Howell, executive vice president of the union.

Howell recalled that the comment came from political officials during a meeting with EPA staffers. Someone asked during the meeting what would happen to those who did not apply to new positions and was told “these are your opportunities,” she said, adding that the implication was that those who did not apply to or get a new position would be fired.

Howell said that employees were told 155 jobs were opening up in the agency’s chemicals office, 300 were opening up in the administrator’s office and 50 would open up in the air and radiation office, while an unspecified number would open up in the water office.

But reports have indicated that some 1,500 people work in ORD.

Howell warned that if the rest of these jobs are lost, the agency could be losing not only “independent science” but also the “expertise” of those staffers.

Chris Frey, who led ORD under the Biden administration, raised concerns about the future of the research office and what it may mean for the American people. 

“Without the evolution of the science, …we would see a difference that EPA will do less to protect public health and the environment,” Frey said. 

“We’ve seen announcements from the administrator of EPA to roll back basically all of the major standards that were set during the Biden administration for air pollution and water quality, contaminants in land and chemicals in commerce, and all of those decisions are made based on an assessment of what is the harm to public health and the environment,” he added. 

Asked about whether employees in the agency’s science arm were instructed to apply for the new job openings, an EPA spokesperson said via email that “All EPA employees were provided this opportunity via an internal hiring authority.”

“The May 2 announcement was the next phase of organizational improvements and part of a larger, comprehensive effort to restructure the entire agency,” the spokesperson said. 

“The Office of Research and Development was not part of this announcement. EPA’s Talent Hub went live Friday night (May 2) with new and open positions in offices impacted by this phase of reorganization … All EPA employees are eligible to apply,” continued the email.

The Hill also obtained an internal email, first reported by E&E News, that appears to detail changes to the agency’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, which conducts studies to examine the impact of exposures to chemicals on people and ecosystems. 

An email signed by the director and deputy director of the center says, “Lab research will wind down over the next few weeks as we will no longer have the capability to acquire supplies and materials.”

“We requested for an exemption for journal articles but have not heard if that is approved,” the internal email states. “ORD is shutting down their laboratory activities. We are unsure if these laboratory activities will continue post-reorganization.”

The EPA, however, described this email as “factually inaccurate.”

“No ORD funding requests to [the Office of Mission Support] have been denied. In fact, we have approved numerous contracts for ongoing ORD research dating back to January,” an agency spokesperson said. 

“At ORD and throughout the agency, EPA is continuing research and labs to advance the mission of protecting human health and the environment,” the spokesperson continued. 

The alleged changes are coming in the wake of a broad reorganization announced by the agency earlier this month, part of sweeping changes enacted by the Trump administration.

EPA said that it would be “shifting its scientific expertise and research efforts” to its program offices, including those that make decisions about whether to protect air and water and how to regulate chemicals.

The agency said at the time that this phase in its reorganization does not include layoffs, but that it hoped to eventually get staffing levels down to where they were in the Reagan era meaning that around 1,000 to 3,000 of the agency’s 15,000 positions could ultimately go. 

Democratic staff of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee reviewed a plan earlier this year indicating that the EPA has considered eliminating ORD entirely. 

The Trump administration has indicated that it wants to cut jobs at agencies across the board and that it intends to carry out mass firings across the federal government. On Friday, a federal judge ordered a temporary pause in the administration’s plans.

An EPA spokesperson declined to say whether its reorganization efforts will be impacted by that order, saying the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.