FEMA employee terminated for signing whistleblower letter

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An employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been fired after signing an open letter warning the country about the dangers the agency posed under current leadership, The Handbasket is first to learn. In a memorandum sent on November 17th, the FEMA employee’s supervisor informed her that she had engaged in “conduct unbecoming a federal employee,” and was terminated immediately. A copy of the memo was shared with The Handbasket by someone with direct knowledge of the situation.

On August 25, a group of current and former FEMA employees signed an open letter called the Katrina Declaration which was sent to the FEMA Agency Review Council and related congressional committees. The letter, released on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall, stated that the agency was ignoring science, hurting disaster survivors and undermining their mission. “Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters compel us to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of decisions made by the current administration.” The following day, all the current employee signatories who signed with their real names were placed on indefinite administrative leave without cause—and now, to the shock of others at the agency, one has been fired.

Last week, the fired employee received a memo from her supervisor titled “Notice of Termination of Appointment.” The supervisor directly references the Katrina Declaration as the impetus for the firing, and goes on to explain how signing the letter was in violation of the code of conduct. He points to a specific statute that states: "[p]ersonnel must not engage in criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct, or other conduct prejudicial to the government. Notoriously disgraceful conduct is any conduct that would embarrass or discredit the employee, FEMA, or the Federal Government.”

The memo also took issue with the fact that the open letter was published by Stand Up for Science, an “activist” organization which Wikipedia describes (according to the memo) as “a non-government entity opposing policy changes under Donald Trump's second term as president.” The group formed in February of this year to fight back against what they call authoritarian attacks by the Trump administration on premier scientific institutions and attacks on our very lives. 

In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson on September 16th, the ranking members on the congressional committees who were sent the Katrina Declaration wrote that “The actions taken by FEMA against the public signers of the letter was plainly retaliatory. These employees are whistleblowers, and are protected under law. The Whistleblower Protection Act shields individuals who provide information to Congress that they reasonably believe evidences gross mismanagement, gross waste of federal funds, abuse of authority, and a substantial and specific danger to health and public safety, as well as a violation of any law, rule, or regulation.”

Indeed the suspended employees maintain they were acting under whistleblower protections, making this specific employee’s termination a clear violation of those protections. 

Oddly enough, another current FEMA employee who signed the Katrina Declaration was notified on Tuesday that no further disciplinary action would be taken against her. An email sent by someone in FEMA HR to the this other employee’s supervisor stated that although her involvement with the declaration had been substantiated, “FEMA's legal counsel has advised that the employee's actions are protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act (5 U.S.C. §2302(b)(8) and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

The email further explains: “These protections ensure that employees can disclose information related to misconduct, abuse, or violations of law without fear of retaliation, provided the disclosure is made in good faith and aligns with statutory protections. As a result, my recommendation is that this matter be closed with no disciplinary action.”

How two FEMA employees signed the same letter and experienced such different outcomes remains wildly unclear. I’ve reached out to the fired employee and her lawyer for comment and am waiting to hear back. I’ve also reached out to FEMA’s Chief Human Capital Officer about both employment situations and am awaiting a reply.