The Bay Area is the regional headquarters for thousands of federal workers who received an email last week from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management inviting them to resign by Thursday to receive pay through Sept. 30.
They work in federal programs that administer health and social benefits, work with elected officials, taxes, consumer and financial regulations, Social Security, veteran services and more.
“If you resign under this program, you will 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 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason),” the OPM email from Jan. 28 said.
The offer applies to all federal employees except for military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service and positions related to immigration enforcement and national security.
On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 12 other attorneys general to warn federal employees not to take the offer.
“The Trump Administration’s so-called buyout offer is a pointed attack aimed at dismantling our federal workforce and sowing chaos for Americans that rely on a functioning government,” Bonta said in a statement. “I urge federal employees to heed warnings from their unions to be very cautious of any buyout offers.”
For those employees who choose to stay in their jobs, the OPM email offered no assurance that they would not be laid off eventually.
“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency, but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” the email said.
The National Federation of Federal Employees also warned its members not to accept the offer, as well as the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees’ union.
On Tuesday, both unions filed a lawsuit against OPM seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the buyout. Their suit argues the directive was unlawful because it threatens employees with being fired without compensation unless they accept the offer, and it promises them pay that has yet to be approved by Congress.
The current funding bill for the federal government is set to expire March 14.
There is an FAQ page on the OPM website. One question asks why the offer is happening, and the answer only provides uncertainties.
The Trump Administration’s so-called buyout offer is a pointed attack aimed at dismantling our federal workforce. … I urge federal employees to heed warnings from their unions to be very cautious of any buyout offers.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta
“The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes. As a result of these changes (or for other reasons), you may wish to depart the federal government on terms that provide you with sufficient time and economic security to plan for your future,” the site says.
The unions’ lawsuit argues that these civil servants are professionals and subject matter experts, many of whom have worked diligently and impartially through successive administrations of both major parties to implement changing administration priorities. “If these employees leave or are forced out en masse, the country will suffer a dangerous one-two punch,” the suit said. “First, the government will lose expertise in the complex fields and programs that Congress has, by statute, directed the Executive to faithfully implement. And second, when vacant positions become politicized, as this Administration seeks to do, partisanship is elevated over ability and truth, to the detriment of agency missions and the American people. That is why Congress, since 1883, has established rights and processes for these employees from undue political influence.”
A ‘unlawful’ numbers game
Before she retired, Alexis Strauss was a 40-year employee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served as the regional administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region 9, based in San Francisco. It covers California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands and 148 Tribal Nations.
“I am particularly worried about the one hundred or so employees who have been hired within the last 12 months,” Strauss said, fearing those will be the first employees targeted for layoffs. “There is a probationary period of one year before employees are moved to permanent status, when they get merit system protections.”
Strauss joined the EPA during the Carter Administration, and she spent the 1980s working to clean up Superfund sites, areas polluted with hazardous waste that receive federal funding for environmental cleanup. She reached a senior role after serving in an executive position working on water issues.
“Taking out the newest 100 will keep the EPA from renewing itself,” Strauss said.
In years past, she said, the federal Office of Management and Budget made reductions, but it was done through a proposed strategy for reducing numbers without reducing services. There are a lot of public health and environmental programs run by the agency to bring safe drinking water and infrastructure projects to small, underserved communities, she said.
In a statement Wednesday, American Federation of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley referred to the role of billionaire Elon Musk in directing the buyouts. President Donald Trump appointed Musk to chair the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The agency was established by executive order, not by Congress.
“Federal employees shouldn’t be misled by slick talk from unelected billionaires and their lackeys,” said Kelley. “Despite claims made to the contrary, this deferred resignation scheme is unfunded, unlawful, and comes with no guarantees. We won’t stand by and let our members become the victims of this con.”
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