Restraining order that blocked deadline for more than 2 million workers to respond is lifted. A federal judge has dissolved a restraining order that blocked Donald Trump’s administration from offering “deferred resignations” to tens of thousands of government employees, opening the door for the administration to resume the so-called “buyout” plan in the president’s efforts to gut the federal workforce.
A temporary order from Massachusetts District Judge George O’Toole had blocked the administration from making an offer that officials claimed would place them on paid leave through September 30 with no expectation of working in that time. A lawsuit from unions representing roughly 800,000 workers argued that they were forced into an “arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum,” with a looming deadline to respond to an email blasted to virtually every federal employee.
The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions argued that the Office of Personnel Management lacked authority to implement the program. Roughly 65,000 people, about 3 percent of the federal workforce, had already accepted the buyout, as of last Friday. Wednesday’s decision throws more chaos into a volatile three-week period for federal employees, who now must decide whether to accept the offer or keep their position with no guarantee that they will be axed by an administration that is trying to slash payrolls across government agencies.
January’s “Fork in the Road” email — echoing a similar message to Twitter employees when Musk bought the platform and shredded the workforce — was sent to nearly every federal employee. Workers are “most welcome to stay at home and relax or to travel to your dream destination. Whatever you would like,” according to the Office of Personnel Management's website. Employees who did not take the offer were not guaranteed they would keep their jobs.
