Staff to be placed on paid leave as president decrees end of programmes and repeals LGBTQ+ equality orders

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US federal employees working in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by Wednesday evening as the new administration of Donald Trump has ordered the programmes to close, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has confirmed.

“Send a notification to all employees of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs,” said a US office of personnel management memo posted on X.