A fired federal employee from the Portland area is the named plaintiff in a class action complaint by the ACLU against the Trump administration.

Mahri Stainnak worked for the Office of Personnel Management and was fired for participating in diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI programs at the agency.

The complaint claims the Trump administration violated the First Amendment and the Civil Rights Act by firing workers for DEI activity.

Stainnak worked at the agency for 16 years and was no longer involved in its DEI programs.

Stainnack spoke with WGAN news partner CBS 13 News.

“Over my decade and a half in government, I have encountered employees from across agencies from NASA to Centers for Disease Control who’ve committed their lives to the missions of their agencies and serving the American people, under any administration,” Stainnak said. “The work that federal employees do continues regardless of whether it’s a Democratic or Republican administration, and we need to get back to work.”

A January executive order from President Trump instructed the Office of Personnel Management to terminate all government activities related to DEI and mandated that federal agencies compile lists of the government’s DEI programs and activities.

The complaint from the ACLU filed Wednesday before the Merit System Protection Board contends the resulting mass terminations of federal employees who are alleged to have participated in DEI activities violates federal employees’ rights under the First Amendment.

The complaint says the Trump administration disproportionately singled out federal workers who were not white men for hostility, suspicion, job interference, and termination.

President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Office of Personnel Management are named in the complaint.