Labor unions sued the federal government Tuesday over President Donald Trump’s controversial “deferred resignation” program, saying the effort to nudge government workers out of their jobs violates the law.
Officials have told federal employees in a series of emails that they can submit a September resignation now and still receive pay and benefits while doing little or no work. But the details of the administration’s plan have been murky at best, with Democratic lawmakers saying that they believe it’s illegal.
The unions ― the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Association of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ― are seeking an injunction to block the administration from moving forward with the effort.
The federal Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, has said workers have until this Thursday to accept the offer, which it dubbed “Fork in the Road.”
The unions called the offer “arbitrary” and “unlawful” in a statement Tuesday.
“The ‘Fork Directive’ amounts to a clear ultimatum to a sweeping number of federal employees: resign now or face the possibility of job loss without compensation in the near future,” they said.
“Democrats and employee unions have warned that the Trump administration might not hold up its end of the deal.”
Although it’s been dubbed a “buyout” program, the proposal does not include a lump-sum payment — only regular payroll payments during the deferred resignation period.
The administration’s effort to induce resignations raises a number of legal concerns.
For one, Congress has only funded the federal government on a continuing resolution through March 14, meaning that the administration is offering federal workers money that isn’t even there yet. The unions argue that the move violates the Antideficiency Act, which forbids agencies from obligating money that Congress hasn’t appropriated.
The offer also poses a potential conflict with ethics rules. OPM has told employees that they could take second jobs while still on the federal payroll, but outside work is generally restricted for such government workers.
Democrats and employee unions have warned that the Trump administration might not hold up its end of the deal.
“It is unclear what recourse, if any, employees might have if the government fails to honor the terms of their deferred resignation,” the American Federation of Government Employees recently told members.
In the administration’s emails to workers, a prewritten resignation letter offered little in the way of guarantees, saying merely that an agency will “likely make adjustments” for those who resign, possibly “eliminating” or “consolidating” their jobs or “reducing” their job duties. Anyone who accepts would be excluded from return-to-office mandates that the administration is pursuing.
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Follow-up messaging from OPM sought to offer reassurances on the program, telling employees that they would not have to work during the resignation period.
“We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so,” one insulting email from OPM explained. “The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.”