Workforce

EPA employees are ‘freaking out’ over Trump’s return

Trump targeted EPA for cuts and deregulation in his first term. Employees are gearing up for a redux.

Management

25 states file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to halt EPA’s carbon rule

The rule could end coal-fired power plants in America, attorneys general argue.

Management

Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses

A new White House rule would require employers to monitor workers’ heat exposure, provide cool-down areas and take other steps for personnel in 35 million heat-related jobs.

Oversight

Supreme Court blocks an EPA plan to curb ozone air pollution

Environmental advocates worry that future challenges to federal policies could similarly “short-circuit the normal process of judicial review” by appealing directly to the Supreme Court.

Workforce

EPA union ratifies contract to protect employees’ scientific integrity

The deal also locks in a maximum of four days per week of telework, though labor leaders said that the agency will likely want to renegotiate the benefit after two years.

Management

Biden’s environmental justice scorecard offers more questions than answers

The White House's own environmental justice progress report gives little insight into the green benefits delivered to disadvantaged communities.

Management

Seven agencies join forces in hopes of quickly implementing Biden's Climate Corps initiative

Many details of the program still must be sorted, though the Biden administration is promising 20,000 participants will be enrolled by the summer and receive a suite of benefits.

Oversight

Alaska and 9 other states threaten to sue EPA over wood-burning stove standards

The agency's 2015 standards are inadequately administered and allow substandard devices to be certified, thus creating more pollution and deceiving consumers, court filing argues.

Management

Resource constraints led to EPA’s failure to address critical vulnerabilities in air and radiation data

The Environmental Protection Agency cited a lack of resources and the sheer volume of critical vulnerabilities as the reasons for its inability to patch its systems under federally required timeframes. 

Management

The U.S. banned farmers from using a brain-harming pesticide on food. Why has it slowed a global ban?

When officials from around the world gathered in Rome last fall to consider whether to move forward with a proposed global ban on chlorpyrifos, the pesticide had a surprising defender: a senior official from the EPA.

Management

How the Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. EPA Decision Will Upset the Administrative World

The ruling will likely sow confusion and gridlock, and shift the balance of power in an unintended way.

Workforce

EPA Will Return to a ‘Hybrid’ Office in May

The agency and its union reached an agreement this month to begin bringing union workers back to facilities in May, albeit with expanded telework and remote work options.

Management

Labor and Environmental Groups Optimistic Biden’s EPA Pick Can Rebuild Trust

Still, the nominee would have a lot of work ahead of him if confirmed, advocates note. 

Oversight

Watchdog Finds EPA Reopening Plans Largely Follow CDC, But Were Inconsistent

The reopening process, a source of tension between the agency and its union, is a “significant challenge” for EPA, said the report.