The Education Department placed dozens of employees on administrative leave on Friday, citing guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, which had directed agencies to submit plans for shedding staff associated with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by the end of the day.

In letters obtained by The New York Times, the department notified affected employees that they would lose access to their email accounts, but would continue to receive pay for an indefinite period.

Brittany Holder, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union estimated that at least 50 department employees had been suspended.

The range of people affected on Friday led several of those who had been placed on leave to conclude that they had been ensnared in a governmentwide effort to stamp out diversity initiatives, despite what they described as little more than superficial contact with mentors offering general coaching on workplace inclusivity.

The move was an early indication that Trump officials had begun looking to root out any D.E.I. efforts believed to be conducted “in disguise” after they had already moved to shutter offices explicitly focused on those efforts earlier in the week. It came as dozens of agencies raced to comply with an order issued by President Trump on his first day in office directing them to dismantle diversity offices and remove staff affiliated with them.

But according to interviews with those placed on leave and people familiar with the notifications, the department appeared to have cast a wide net, suspending people whose job titles and official duties had no connection to D.E.I., and whose only apparent exposure to D.E.I. initiatives came in the form of trainings encouraged by their managers. One of the training workshops that employees speculated may have led to their being flagged took place more than nine years ago.