Last week, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent a mass email to all federal employees offering a “deferred resignation” program with full pay through September 30, 2025, if they chose to resign before February 6, 2025. The email, titled “Fork in the Road,” states “at this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency,” if employees do not accept the deferred resignation program offer.

However, on Thursday, February 6, U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. ordered the administration to temporarily cease all activities on the program. The program is enjoined pending arguments scheduled to be heard on Monday, February 10. Lawsuits allege the program violates both the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.

Prior to Judge O’Toole’s February 6 action, guidance from OPM said “employees who accept deferred resignation should promptly have their duties re-assigned or eliminated and be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period (generally, September 30, 2025, unless the employee has elected another earlier resignation date), unless the agency head determines that it is necessary for the employee to be actively engaged in transitioning job duties.”

The OPM guidance also offered FAQs on the deferred resignation process, including what happens if an employee resigns and later changes their mind, whether employees can get another job outside of the government agency during the period between submission and resignation, and how employees will know if their resignations have been accepted.

Members of Congress, led by House Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-VA), wrote President Trump in strong opposition to the buyout. “This offer would precipitate a mass exodus of the most experienced and capable federal employees, leaving our agencies severely understaffed and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities,” the members wrote. “The consequences of this brain drain will be felt by every American.”

Administration officials told Axios approximately 20,000 federal employees – around 1 percent of the workforce – had accepted the deferred retirement program through February 4. The media is reporting that 50,000 have accepted the buyout through February 6.

In a statement, FMA expressed concern about the program, including the potential impact on the services agencies provide to all Americans, and offering civil servants one week to decide their future with the federal government. In a message to FMA members, FMA National President Craig Carter wrote, “we cannot tell you what to do in that regard [to accept or decline the buyout offer], but we can tell you that the current continuing resolution (CR) only runs through March 15, 2025, and that your salary and benefits are paid for through your agency’s budget, not the Office of Personnel Management.”