February 6 was the last day before which federal workers were supposed to let the administration know whether they want to resign or work from the office. But a federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked the buyout offer hours before the deadline. A federal judge in Massachusetts pushed back the deadline for employees to accept the offer, initially set for 11:59 p.m. Thursday, until at least Monday in response to a lawsuit filed by federal workers unions that argued the administration could not guarantee pay beyond the March 14 expiration date for the existing budget.
The program had Elon Musk‘s design all over it as Musk did the same thing to then-Twitter when he acquired it. The mail sent to the federal employees said if they accept the program, they will receive their salary and other benefits through September without even working. Otherwise, they would have to come to the office and work from the office.
40,000 employees accepted the deferred resignation program
About 40,000 of the approximately 2.3 million employees eligible for the buyout offer have accepted it, according to NBC News and The Washington Post—after a figure of around 20,000 was reported a day earlier. CNN reported that Trump was planning a mass layoff of those employees who did not take the buyout.
US District George O’Toole prevented the agency from implementing the program’s deadline during a brief hearing held hours before federal workers were required to notify OPM of whether they would accept or reject the offer to step away from their positions.
A Justice Department lawyer said OPM would provide notice to federal employees that the deadline is paused pending further legal proceedings.
For those who opted to keep their positions, the message from the administration noted that the Trump administration could not give “full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency.” It also noted that “the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force” as part of Trump’s efforts to reform the federal workforce.