I’ve come back from dealing with a hacked computer and a day of more or less silent retreat. Given that, I can safely say that in relation to the buyout question, that making financial decisions urgently or in a climate of fear, is probably not a good idea. In fact, some people try to get other people worried so they don’t think clearly. Even the agency itself (can’t even remember which Admin) telling you something’s a good idea (think CSRS vs. FERS) made me pick the other.
I don’t know how this is all going to roll out, nor, probably does anyone else. As others have pointed out, there are many legal and union steps along the way. You all are appreciated, and your work is appreciated, while it is also true that some people inside and outside think some peoples’ work is more important than others. It tends to be people on Districts saying that Forests, Regions and the WO are overstaffed. Then there are deputies and chiefs of staff, which apparently folks could get along without before IRA and BIL $. Or maybe programs of various kind, I’m sure we can all think of those (and probably disagree). The most important thing, though, is that this is one of those Titans Clash and Rocks Crush Little People things, you just happened to be there right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with you specifically, and your work and commitment.
Given all that, I want to help our current employees out as best I can. The only way I can think of is to try to get the best info. E&E News had a piece, so I will post key parts of that; but employees, at least some in the FS, but maybe not others (when I was working) have access, so you can read the whole story.
Employees across the government were left scrambling Tuesday night to understand the offer and its possible implications for their futures and their careers. At the Interior Department, “everyone is freaked out,” an Interior employee said.
That person is not planning to take the offer. “It’s too much of a gamble,” that person said, adding that the government “has no power to really do” what the administration is promising.“It’s just a way to dismantle the government with false promises and without following the rules set up to protect democracy,” the Interior employee said. “They’re gonna have to take me out kicking and screaming.”
An employee at the National Science Foundation deleted the email as soon as they received it, they said. That person was worried that they might accidentally hit reply, and because the email already contained the word “resign,” they would inadvertently relinquish their job.
Some other government employees are saying, “I might as well do this,” out of concern for their jobs moving forward, the NSF employee said. But that person isn’t taking the resignation offer, they said. “I’m more angry now, and I’m not going to quit,” that
employee said. “I don’t care what you throw at me.”
A second NSF employee said they’re considering taking the offer due to the uncertainty about their career. But that person finds the Trump offer “insulting” and confusing. “It isn’t clear what it means,” they said.
Energy Department staffers were skeptical of the offer, too.
“No one trusts it, and it’s just not happening,” said one DOE staffer, who dismissed it as a ploy. “No one I know is taking the bait here.” A second DOE employee said, “I don’t trust the people who sent the offer, I don’t trust that they know or care whether this is even legal, and I deeply resent the attempt to intimidate people into making rash, probably irrevocable, choices.”
A staffer with Interior’s Bureau of Land Management said a government employee union that represents agency staff was advising members to be wary of the offer until they had more time to evaluate it.Many federal employees are tuned into a page on Reddit where workers are sharing their concerns about the Trump administration.
Tech mogul Elon Musk, leading Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, criticized federal employees in a social media post Wednesday, reposting a claim that government workers spend too much time complaining about their jobs on Reddit.**********
Warnings for workers
The details of the Trump administration’s plans aren’t entirely clear. Government employee unions and others are warning that workers who offer to resign might not get the benefits they’re expecting.
“Make no mistake: this email is designed to entice or scare you into resigning from the federal government,” the National Treasury Employees Union, who represents federal employees in 36 agencies, told its members in a Tuesday night email. “We strongly urge you not to resign in response to this email.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, the country’s largest federal worker union, is encouraging its members “not to make a hasty decision” aboutresigning, said AFGE spokesperson Tim Kauffman.
“Since this action does not seem to be targeted, mass resignations from key government agencies could cause widespread chaos for Americans who depend on essential government services our members provide,” Kauffman said.
Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan good government research group, said Trump’s resignation offer was “perplexing, of questionable legality and dangerous.”
Americans rely on federal employees to fly safely, have clean drinking water and respond to natural disasters, among other jobs, Stier said.‘Don’t be fooled’
The resignation program is available to full-time federal employees, excluding military personnel, immigration and national security staffers as well as Postal Service employees.
Employees have until Feb. 6, Thursday next week, to decide to resign. If they choose to do so, they will retain their pay and benefits until Sept. 30. They will be exempt from a return to office until their final resignation date, according to the template resignation letter included in the email.
Trump’s resignation offer is not technically a buyout as understood in the federal workplace. There is no mention of the government’s formal separation incentive or early retirement programs in the email.
Further, buyouts for federal workers are capped at $25,000 for each employee. Salary and benefits over close to eight months for many staffers would likely exceed that dollar amount.
Office of Personnel Management guidance released Tuesday to agencies suggests a workaround from that buyout ceiling. Employees who accept “deferred resignation” will be placed on paid administrative leave until Sept. 30 or until their resignation date, if earlier. Staffers can’t work when they’re on paid leave.
Adding to the confusion for federal employees is another OPM memo related to Trump’s return-to-office order. That guidance advises agencies to bring their union contracts “into compliance” with that order. Many of those collective bargaining agreements have strong telework and remote work protections for federal employees.
Some don’t believe the Trump administration will follow through on what the president promised.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday night, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) warned federal employees against Trump’s offer, saying he didn’t have the authority to make it.
“Don’t be fooled by a fake offer that because he’s terrorized you in the last week, it would be easy to just resign now and get a check for seven months,” Kaine said. “I can tell you that promise is worth nothing.”
After all, the federal government isn’t funded until the end of this fiscal year. Spending will run out in mid-March, and lawmakers will have to pass another stopgap bill to keep agencies open. Employees who joined the resignation program could be left in the
lurch.
Federal employees have until late next week to take Trump’s offer. And while some mull it over, others have already decided not to.