DENVER, CO (The Denver Post) — Federal workers across the nation face a life-altering decision this week — tender their resignations and be paid through Sept. 30. Or hold firm and face future rounds of belt-tightening and strict return to the office requirements.
An emailed memo titled “Fork in the Road” went out Jan. 28 to many of the nation’s 2.2 million federal civilian employees, giving them an option to send back the word “resign” or “resign and retire” by Thursday, Feb. 6. It follows warnings from the Trump administration that remote and hybrid work arrangements are ending, except for those needing special accommodations.
The military, U.S. Postal Service, and Transportation Security Administration, and other workers considered important to national security aren’t eligible to resign. But a large share of civilian federal workers face a looming deadline on whether to stay or go.
“We are telling our people to proceed with caution. If you are considering resigning, make sure you discuss it with a financial adviser. Don’t jump at this,” cautioned Tim Snyder, National Vice President for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) District 11.
The AFGE is the nation’s largest union representing federal workers, with about 800,000 members, and it has urged members to say no until there is further clarification. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents about 150,000 federal workers, is firmly on the no side, while the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), which represents about 80,000 federal employees, has called the offer “reckless” and urged rejection.
The unions argue the deferred resignation program violates the Administrative Procedure Act, that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacks the legal authority to make such a sweeping offer and that funds to pay resigning workers beyond March 14 aren’t secure yet.
Beyond that, the AFGE and other groups have sued to prevent what they consider administration efforts to politicize the civil service and replace career employees with “unqualified political flunkies loyal to the president, but not the law or Constitution.”
Elon Musk and his team at the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency argue the moves will streamline government operations, lower costs and reduce unnecessary overhead while avoiding abrupt layoffs in the months ahead. The resignation program is partly modeled after one offered to employees of Twitter, now X, when Musk took over in 2022, down to the use of the phrase “Fork in the Road.”
