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Trump Offers Resignation Deal For Federal Employees Opposed To Office Return

President Donald Trump is giving federal employees a week to resign if they aren't on board with the administration’s return-to-office policy. 

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President Donald Trump at his second inauguration

The Office of Personnel Management told employees in a memo Tuesday called “Fork in the Road” that if they give notice by Feb. 6, they can resign with pay through September, and the vast majority won't be required to perform any more work.

Through the “deferred resignation program,” the administration is attempting to fulfill its promise to bring workers back in person and simultaneously cut the federal workforce.

“If you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason),” OPM’s memo says.  

In a question and answer section of the memo, it says the federal workers won't be expected to work during the resignation period, “except in rare cases.”

There are about 2.3 million federal employees eligible for the deal, which isn't applicable to some of the federal workforce like military or post office personnel. 

The memo directs employees who wish to resign to send an email to a human resources email address with just the word “resign” in the subject line.  

OPM’s memo indicates that even if employees comply with the return-to-office program, their jobs aren't necessarily safe.

“At this time, 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,” it says.

The offer appears to be influenced by billionaire Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. The email subject line “Fork in the Road” is the same phrase that Musk used as the subject line in a 2022 email to Twitter staff that led to hundreds of resignations after he bought the company, and Musk posted that phrase on the rebranded social media platform Tuesday evening.

“Worth noting that the 8 month severance offer through the end of the government fiscal year is the most that is legally allowed without Congress passing another appropriations bill,” Musk posted on X. “Very generous.”

The program has already been called into question by members of Congress who say the White House doesn’t have the authority to elicit the resignations. 

On the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, warned that the policy was a ploy to “stiff” federal workers.

“He's tricked hundreds of people with that offer,” Kaine said. “If you accept that offer and resign, he'll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors. He doesn't have any authority to do this. Do not be fooled by this guy.”

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the nation’s largest federal employee union, warned in a statement that purging the federal government of federal employees “will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos” for the country. 

“This offer should not be viewed as voluntary,” Kelley said. “Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration's goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”

It comes as the federal government is trying to cut its leased and owned real estate footprint. The General Services Administration oversees 360M SF across the country, half of which is leased and half owned. 

Members of the Public Buildings Reform Board, an entity created by Congress to advise the government on how it can reduce its footprint, said at a public meeting Tuesday that they believe the new administration sees offloading of space as a priority and feel that their efforts are now gaining momentum. 

The GSA's new Public Buildings Service commissioner, Michael Peters, said the administration could cut up to 50% of the GSA’s portfolio.

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