AUSTIN, Texas — The clock is ticking for millions of federal employees to decide whether to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration.
President Trump gave workers the option to quit through a “Deferred Resignation” program. They have until Feb. 6 to decide, which would allow pay and benefits to be kept through Sept. 30. But for some, fear and uncertainty linger over what exactly is being offered.
Timothy Darby Griffth said he received his buyout offer through an email from the Office of Personnel Management labeled “Fork in the Road” after 15 years with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The offer doesn’t guarantee “the certainty of your position or agency” if you stay on the job, although Griffith feels he doesn’t have a choice but to accept.
“We have one week to decide our entire futures and figure out our whole retirement plan. Figure out what we’re going to do about insurance in the future,” Griffith said. “My main concern is that if you do not accept this buyout, that later on they’re just going to come at you with a restructuring or realignment of purposes or a reduction in force as stated in the letter.”
Officials with the Office of Personnel Management said Wednesday they were making “robust efforts,” and provided a page of frequently asked questions for employees.
The buyouts are being offered to full-time federal employees except for military personnel, postal service workers, and roles related to immigration enforcement and national security.
However, some legal experts are unsure if Trump and his administration have the authority to conduct a buyout of this scale.
“I’m skeptical,” said Scott Schneider, a lawyer and adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “And then … is it truly a voluntary participation in the severance program when on the backside you’re basically saying, ‘Hey, if you don’t take this … we could make life difficult for you in a number of different ways.'”
Schneider said although change is bound to happen once a new administration steps in, he calls the buyouts “unprecedented” and added that employees should consider what they are accepting.
“If I were an employee trying to consider, ‘Do I take this or not,’ one of the things I’d want to know is, is this binding? I mean, are you in fact, going to pay me what you say you’re going to pay me? And if there’s any question about that, my hunch is I’m going to be inclined to say, ‘Hey, thanks, but no thanks,'” Schneider said.
Schneider also questioned whether or not anyone is bound to honor the agreement.