A U.S. federal judge has put a hold on President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce the number of federal workers by offering them seven months’ salary to resign. This means that over 2 million federal employees have more time to decide whether to accept the offer, while labor unions challenge the legality of the plan.
Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., from Massachusetts, announced on Monday that the pause on the acceptance deadline would continue until he makes a decision on whether the ‘deferred resignation’ plan is legal. He had already halted the plan last Thursday, just hours before the original deadline.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages federal employees, announced the program on January 28. They set a deadline of February 6 for workers to accept the offer. The OPM stated that those who resign under the program would “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.”
So far, more than 60,000 workers have agreed to resign, which is about 3% of those eligible. The Trump administration views this as a way to quickly shrink the government workforce.
However, labor unions are opposing the plan. They argue that the OPM doesn’t have the authority to guarantee pay and benefits until the end of September, especially since Congress only approved funding until March 14. The unions also believe the plan could harm government operations, rush employees into making decisions, and be used to replace workers based on their political views.
As the court case continues, federal workers are left uncertain about the future of the ‘buyout’ plan and their jobs.
