FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2025
CONTACT
Peter Jenkins (202) 265-4189 pjenkins@peer.org
Tim Whitehouse (202) 247-0288 twhitehouse@peer.org
Trump’s Federal Employee Buyout Offer is an Illusion
OPM “Fork in the Road” Deferred Resignation Offer May be Illegal
Washington, DC — The “Fork in the Road” buyout offer sent to almost all federal employees by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is not a buyout and may be illegal, according to an analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. This offer is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to get federal civil servants to quit by instilling fear and panic in the workforce.
On Tuesday, federal employees received an email from OPM with the subject line, “Fork in the Road” with an offer of a “deferred resignation.” The email states that employees who resign by February 6 will be exempt from any “Return to Office” requirements and will retain pay and benefits through September 30. Military personnel, postal workers, and national security and immigration officials are not eligible.
The memo thanks employees who wish to stay in their positions but cautions, “we cannot give full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency.”
The memo does not provide clarity on whether those who resign by February 6 will be required to work until September 30. In fact, the employee acknowledgment section states the “employing agency will likely make adjustments in response to my resignation, 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.”
“This email is another ill-motivated effort to get as many federal employees to quit as soon as possible,“ said Peter Jenkins, PEER’s Senior Counsel. “OPM has no legal authority to reliably claim that the Trump Administration will put everyone who quits in the next 8 days on paid administrative leave throughout the next 8 months.”
The OPM website clearly states that the limit for incentive packages for voluntary resignations is $25,000. Some employees can’t even be offered that. Furthermore, promises of paid administrative leave are illusory, as under the Administrative Leave Act, agencies are only allowed to place employees on 10 workdays of paid administrative leave in any calendar year.
In a cruel twist of fate, the administration has arbitrarily placed employees across the government who work on diversity, equity and inclusion, and environmental justice issues on administrative leave and denied them access to their emails, meaning they cannot respond to this offer.
“Contrary to the administration’s rhetoric, the world faces serious environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, the overuse of toxic chemicals, and the spread of emerging diseases,” said Tim Whitehouse, PEER’s Executive Director. “The country needs a strong civil service to help address these threats, something this administration seems determined to destroy. Federal employees should be very skeptical about accepting this offer.”
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Read the OPM Fork in The Road Email