Judge allows federal worker "buyout" plan to proceed, and Trump administration announces it's closed
Boston — A federal judge in Massachusetts allowed the Trump administration's bid to offer " deferred resignations" to federal workers who voluntarily leave government service to continue and lifted a previous court order pausing the program's deadline.
Shortly after the ruling, Office of Personnel Management spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said in a statement that the office was "pleased" with the court's decision and that the deferred resignation program was closed as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Judge George O'Toole, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, ruled Wednesday that the plaintiffs in the case — unions that represent federal employees — lacked standing to bring the case in the first place. He also ruled he did not have the jurisdiction to stop the program from proceeding.
The judge initially paused the original Feb. 6 deadline for workers to accept the offer last week, and held a hearing on Monday over whether he should issue a temporary restraining order extending the pause.
The Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, notified the more than 2 million federal employees last month that they had the option to resign their positions and retain full pay and benefits until Sept. 30. Federal workers who agreed to resign would also be exempt from in-person work requirements through September and would not be required to work at their government jobs during the deferred resignation period, according to the notice.
The message from OPM, bearing the subject line "Fork in the Road," notified workers who did not accept the offer that the Trump administration could not give them "full assurance" about their continuing employment. OPM also noted that many federal agencies would be downsized "through restructurings, realignments and reductions in force."
Unions representing federal workers sued the federal government last week to stop the deadline and challenge the legality of the program, arguing it violates federal law. But in his ruling on Wednesday, O'Toole wrote the unions' alleged damages were not "sufficient."
He found that the plaintiffs were "not directly impacted by the directive."
"They allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members' questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm," the judge wrote. "The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others."
O'Toole also wrote that aggrieved employees who might take issue with the deferred resignation program and its deadline are statutorily required to first challenge the program via an administrative — as opposed to judicial – review process.
"That the unions themselves may be foreclosed from this administrative process does not mean that adequate judicial review is lacking," the judge wrote.
Pinover, the OPM spokesperson, said, "There is no longer any doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees. This program was carefully designed, thoroughly vetted, and provides generous benefits so federal workers can plan for their futures."
Democracy Forward's Skye Perrymann said in a statement on behalf of the unions, "We will continue to pursue all legal options to defend the civil service and protect the American people from extremism."
The deferred resignation offer is part of a broader initiative undertaken by President Trump to slash the size of the federal government. The president issued several directives soon after the start of his second term last month that were aimed at reducing the federal workforce, including mandating employees return to their offices five days a week and reinstating an order that created a new category for many career civil servants, effectively stripping them of certain employment protections.
He also tapped billionaire Elon Musk to oversee the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk and DOGE employees have since targeted at least a dozen federal agencies, including the Treasury and Labor Departments.
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