A group of fired federal employees who were involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is challenging their firings, arguing they were retaliated against because of their political views. 

In the early days of his second term, President Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at shutting down DEI offices and programs. Stating that DEI is a form of illegal discrimination, the administration fired many employees associated with those initiatives.

On Wednesday, a group of former federal employees involved with those DEI programs filed a lawsuit, challenging the Trump administration’s decision. One of the plaintiffs in the case, Mahri Stainnak, previously filed a complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, which hears appeals from federal employees who are fired or disciplined. However, the board dismissed the complaint in July.

The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU, alleges that the firings were “intended to punish perceived political enemies, as well as to eliminate from the federal workforce people of color, women, non-binary employees, and those, like Plaintiffs, who advocated for or were perceived as advocating for protected racial or gender groups.”

The plaintiffs argue that their terminations violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act because they “disproportionately impacted” federal workers who are “black, women, non-binary, and people of color.”  The plaintiffs also allege the terminations violate their First Amendment rights. 

The legal director for the ACLU-D.C., Scott Michelman, said, “The president cannot fire dedicated civil servants simply because of who they are or what the Trump administration thinks they believe.”

“These mass terminations show that the president’s true motive was to purge anyone he perceived as a political enemy from government service. In America, the First Amendment protects federal employees, and all of us, from politically motivated power grabs,” he added.

A White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, said in a statement, “As the head of the Executive Branch, President Trump has the lawful authority and mandate to prevent unlawful spending on unconstitutional endeavors, which includes making the staffing decisions required to properly implement this directive.”

The lawsuit seeks the reinstatement of the fired employees and compensation for lost wages.