WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS News) — More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight Eastern time on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a “deferred resignation” offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for duty. But if they opt to keep their jobs, they could get fired.
That decision, one affecting the careers and livelihoods of Americans around the U.S., is fraught, employment attorneys and government watchdogs said. The offer, from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), includes a number of provisions that are unclear and not guaranteed, posing financial and professional risks while leaving workers in danger of not getting what they signed up for, experts told CBS MoneyWatch.
The Trump administration also may lack authority to extend such a deal, and as such the deferred resignation allegedly breaks numerous laws, a Feb. 4 lawsuit filed by several federal employee unions alleges. The plaintiffs in that suit are asking a court to block the government’s offer, which they describe as “arbitrary, capricious” and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, a 1946 law governing how federal agencies implement regulations.
The deferred resignation offer is the brainchild of the second Trump administration, which has ordered federal workers to return to the office five days a week while directing government agencies to end remote work arrangements. The White House expects to persuade up to roughly 10% of the federal civilian workforce to resign, saving $100 billion a year in costs.
So far, about 40,000 federal workers have accepted the deal, or some 2% of the federal workforce, according to a CBS News source familiar with the matter, although that number could rise as the deadline nears.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Jan. 28 described the offer as aimed at “making our government efficient and productive again.”
“If [federal workers] don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of eight months,” she said.
The offer isn’t available to members of the armed forces, U.S. Postal Service workers, and those who work in jobs related to immigration enforcement and national security, according to the OPM.
Risks to workers
OPM’s offer includes many gray areas that could present pitfalls to employees who accept it, experts said.
“There is a risk for employees to take this without knowing what would happen down the line,” said Ryan Nerney, managing partner at law firm Tully Rinckey and an expert on federal employment law. “If you decide to take this, and let’s say there’s a reduction in force and your job is eliminated, there is no guidance on what would happen in a circumstance like that. Would you still get paid through Sept. 30?”
The agency’s email lacks specifics and guarantees about the offer, adding to government workers’ confusion, Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, told CBS MoneyWatch.
“It’s very confusing — it says you won’t have to do your position duties anymore, but there is a caveat that says if they need you, you have to keep doing that,” Greenwald said, referring to the resignation letter that says employees aren’t expected to work except in “rare circumstances.”
A dozen state attorneys general have also cautioned federal workers about accepting the offer, describing it as “misleading” and urging employees to closely scrutinize the terms.
