Email Blast: White House Offers Federal Workers “Deferred Resignation”

The Trump Administration is once again chasing a headline with details, this time over offering what are being called “deferred resignation” to most federal workers in an effort to greatly reduce the federal workforce.

Washington Post:

The White House announced details Tuesday of a “deferred resignation” offer it made to federal employees that allows them to resign with pay through Sept. 30.

Here’s what we know about the offer, which affects the majority of the 2.3 million workers employed by the government and was made in an email blast Tuesday afternoon. It is the latest step the Trump administration has taken to reshape the federal workforce — including ordering most federal workers back to the office, firing inspectors general at several agencies and directing the government to lay off staff working on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Federal workers who accept the deferred resignation offer will remain employed, retain all pay and benefits, and be exempt from in-person work requirements until their final resignation date of Sept. 30, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

The deferred resignation letter shared by the office suggests that those who take the offer could see their duties changed — or be reassigned or placed on leave — before their resignation.

Agencies may make “adjustments” in response to resignations including “moving, eliminating, consolidating, reassigning my position and tasks, reducing my official duties, and/or placing me on paid administrative leave until my resignation date,” the letter states.

Under the offer, employees can accelerate their resignation date but not extend it. If a federal worker becomes eligible for early or normal retirement at any point before their resignation date, they may also elect to retire, according to the office.

What happens to those who don’t accept it?
The offer expires Feb. 6, according to the office, and there is no penalty for civil servants who do not respond to the email announcing the offer.

The announcement states that the majority of federal agencies will be downsized as part of the Trump administration’s overhauls, likely through furloughs and reclassifying employees to at-will status, which would make them easier to fire.

For those who do not take the offer, “we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” the announcement states.

Not all federal employees are eligible. Agency heads may determine carve-outs within their agencies. Military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, and those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security are also exempt, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

Trump pledged on the campaign trail to shrink the civil service, which he and his allies have cast as a liberal “deep state” that disrupted his plans during his first term. Billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the “Department of Governmental Efficiency,” previously vowed to slash the federal workforce as part of a sweeping plan to eliminate agencies and shrink the federal budget.