A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Office of Personnel Management’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” offer. The judge’s decision prevents the agency from implementing the program’s deadline hours before federal workers were required to respond. The offer allows employees to resign while retaining full pay and benefits until September 30. It also exempts them from in-person work requirements through September.
The decision was made in response to a lawsuit filed by unions representing over 800,000 federal employees, arguing that the program violates federal law and lacks guarantees. The unions expressed concerns that the government would lose expertise in critical fields and that there is no appropriation in place from Congress to cover salaries after March 14.
The White House expressed gratitude to the judge for extending the deadline, allowing more federal workers to take up the offer. However, employment lawyers have raised concerns about the lack of clarity in the program’s components and its legality. State attorneys general have also cautioned federal employees against accepting what they consider to be a misleading offer to resign.
Overall, the deferred resignation program is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has taken various initiatives to slash the workforce, including ordering federal workers back to the office and shutting down overseas missions of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The legal battle surrounding the deferred resignation offer is ongoing, with more details expected to be presented in the coming days.
