By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) – The Trump administration has unveiled a novel plan offering financial incentives to 2 million civilian full-time federal workers to quit their jobs as part of a planned cull of the government workforce. But the program is likely to run into a number of complications, including funding issues, and it could also face legal challenges.
HOW WILL THE PROGRAM WORK?
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal workforce and is controlled by the White House, said in a Jan. 28 email to federal employees that workers who submit their resignation by Feb. 6 will retain their full pay and benefits through Sept. 30 without having to show up for work, except in undefined “rare cases.” OPM instructed workers willing to submit so-called “deferred resignations” to send an email to an agency account with the word “Resign” in the subject line.
OPM warned that for workers who do not accept the offer “we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency.” The program does not apply to military personnel, postal workers, and certain immigration enforcement and national security employees.
WHY IS OPM ASKING WORKERS TO QUIT?
OPM said the program was an opportunity for workers to have “a dignified, fair departure” if they do not agree with Trump’s plan to transform the government workforce. That includes Trump’s order eliminating telework arrangements and requiring most government workers to report to the office.
Some Democrats and other Trump critics suggested that the goal of the offer was to push federal workers who fear they will be fired or lose legal protections to quit, making room for Trump to hire political loyalists and shrink the federal bureaucracy.
CAN OPM DO THIS?
Several experts have said OPM does not have the authority to offer buyouts, to accept resignations from employees of other agencies, or to place those workers on administrative leave, and questioned how the program will be implemented. When federal agencies downsize or restructure they can, with OPM’s permission, offer lump-sum buyouts to workers known as voluntary separation incentive payments, or VSIPs. Federal law caps those payments at $25,000 and they can only be offered to employees who have worked at an executive agency for at least three years continuously and meet other criteria.
Agencies could place workers who agree to resign on paid administrative leave, but it is unclear whether they have the authority to do so. A 2016 federal law only allows agencies to place workers on paid leave for 10 days in a calendar year, with some exceptions, and would seem to preclude them from placing many workers on leave for months.
DO AGENCIES HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO THIS?
It is unclear whether federal agencies can guarantee the funding necessary to pay workers who resign, and some unions and Democrats have suggested they cannot. The federal government is currently funded only through March 14, and agencies likely will not know until then what their funding levels will be moving forward.
WILL OPM BE SUED OVER THIS?
Some experts said OPM’s email is so vague that it may not be enough to trigger lawsuits, but workers could sue individual agencies once they begin implementing the plan. That could include claiming that agencies did not follow the proper procedures for seeking voluntary resignations or violated other federal regulations and workers’ constitutional rights. Unions that represent federal employees could also challenge the plan if it interferes with specific collective bargaining agreements with federal agencies.
WHAT HAPPENS IF EMPLOYEES RESIGN AND ARE NOT PAID?
Because the full details of the plan are unknown, it is not clear what recourse, if any, workers would have if they stop getting paid. OPM’s email and information posted on its website may not amount to a legal contract that can be enforced in court, experts said. And because resignations are generally considered voluntary, workers who quit and their unions may not have an avenue to bring legal challenges.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Hugh Lawson)
