Washington DC - Six former Environmental Protection Agency employees on Wednesday sued the agency's Administrator Lee Zeldin for alleged violations of their First Amendment rights.

The six former employees accuse Zeldin and the Trump administration of terminating their employment because they signed an open letter criticizing the politicization of science.

As a result of this firing, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) – who represent the former employees – are accusing Zeldin, the EPA, and President Donald Trump of undermining free speech protections.

In addition, the EPA is accused of endangering public safety by removing employees that perform crucial work.

In total, 139 employees were fired in July after they signed the open letter, with the EPA accusing them of sabotaging the federal government.

According to PEER, the six employees filed their claims before the US Merit Systems Protection Board, a federal agency meant to investigate and resolve complaints made by staff against government agencies.

They accused the EPA of breaching their First Amendment rights, firing them in retaliation for a perceived political affiliation, arbitrarily harsh and inconsistent punishment, and firing without cause.

"Federal employees have the right to speak out on matters of public concern in their personal capacities, even when they do so in dissent," said PEER General Counsel Joanna Citron Day.

Daniel Rosenthal, a partner at law firm James & Hoffman, warned that "federal law protects these civil servants from arbitrary terminations."

"The agency has the burden to prove that the employees engaged in misconduct and that this misconduct was severe enough to interfere with the employee's work or another legitimate government objective. We look forward to refuting the EPA's justification for terminating these dedicated employees," he said.