Some employees with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission feared that being given a day off was part of a Department of Government Efficiency plot to terminate their employment, according to Politico.
The jittery response came after EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas sent an email telling non-emergency employees they did not have to come in to work on April 18, which they later realized was the Christian observance of Good Friday, which comes before Easter Sunday.
Anonymous sources told reporter Nick Niedzwiadek that some employees felt certain the gesture "was a prelude to reduction-in-force notices or other major changes" — just like what happened when Elon Musk's DOGE slashed the Department of Education and USAID.
Musk has said his job is to cut "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the federal government.
“People are just on edge right now,” one EEOC employee told Politico.
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"The fact that employees did not know what to make of Lucas’ gesture underscores the tension across the federal government amid the Trump administration’s far-ranging attempt to reorient agency priorities, reduce spending and cut workers — while exerting more control over those who remain," Niedzwiadek wrote.
One former EEOC official told Politico, "I think it was a misguided attempt by the chair to give folks time off for the religious holiday — which she’s said in the past was important to her — but she knew it would be problematic to give a Christian holiday off."
This is Lucas' second term in the position, after President Donald Trump renominated her in March.
"During her time at the EEOC, Lucas has emphasized going after faith-based discrimination, fostered ties with conservative religious organizations and spoken openly about the agency’s role in protecting religious freedom in the workplace," Niedzwiadek wrote. "Since being designated the acting chair earlier this year she has announced plans to step up investigations into allegations of antisemitism on college campuses," and has been looking into large law firms' hiring practices.
Since Trump proclaimed war on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at the start of his term, the EEOC has gone after employers that have not scrapped their "illegal" DEI initiatives.