Dozens of FEMA employees have been put on paid leave "until further notice," multiple sources tell CBS News. The suspensions came shortly after several employees signed a letter blasting Trump-era changes to the agency.

Washington

More than 20 employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been placed on paid administrative leave without a specified reason. The action follows an open letter to Congress, known as the Katrina Declaration, which was signed by 191 current and former FEMA employees criticizing the Trump administration's changes to the agency. 

Of those who signed, 35 current employees attached their names, while others withheld theirs due to fear of retaliation. Some of the named employees received immediate suspension notices and lost access to official communication channels. The move comes amid concerns over significant workforce reductions at FEMA during the Trump administration.

Dozens of FEMA employees put on paid leave 'until further notice'

of the Trump administration and now on paid administrative leave until further notice. Staffers were not given a specific reason, though, for that decision. The move comes a day after current and former staff sent an open letter to Congress slamming the Trump administration's changes to the agency. CBS News Homeland Security correspondent Nicole Skanger joins us from Washington with more on this. Good morning, Nicole. Great to see you. What else do we know about this suspension? And there's no cited reason, but the timing seems to make it obvious. Most definitely, Errol. FEMA suspending more than 20 employees who signed that open letter arguing the Trump administration had undone years of post-Katrina progress at the disaster relief agency. Multiple sources telling CBS News, by the way, it's been exactly 20 years since Hurricane Katrina. Now, Monday's open letter to Congress, known as the Katrina Declaration, said it was signed by 191 current and former FEMA employees. Some 35 of them attached their names, while the rest really withheld them over fear of retaliation. And some of the current FEMA employees who went ahead and signed their names received emails on Tuesday night saying they'd been placed on leave effective immediately and continuing until further notice, according to copies of those emails that we reviewed. Now, during their leave, employees won't have access to their email or their cell phones. They will be required to check in every day from personal emails. FEMA has shed more than a third of its workforce under the Trump administration. There are folks inside the agency who tell us they can't afford to lose any more.

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