Fork in the Road
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is offering a deferred resignation program for federal employees from January 28 to February 6, 2025, allowing them to maintain pay and benefits until September 30, 2025.
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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a deferred resignation offer to federal employees, effective from January 28, 2025, until February 6, 2025. This initiative follows directives from President Trump aimed at reforming the federal workforce, which includes a mandatory return to in-person work for most employees, a focus on performance culture, and enhanced standards of conduct. Employees who choose to accept the deferred resignation will maintain their pay and benefits until their resignation date of September 30, 2025, and will be exempt from in-person work requirements. The program is available to full-time federal employees, excluding military personnel, U.S. Postal Service employees, and those in specific excluded positions. Employees wishing to resign must respond via their government email accounts, indicating their decision clearly. The OPM emphasizes that the choice to resign is voluntary and that employees will be treated with dignity throughout the process. The agency aims to streamline the workforce while ensuring that those who remain are committed to high performance and accountability.
- OPM offers a deferred resignation program for federal employees from January 28 to February 6, 2025.
- Employees can maintain pay and benefits until their resignation date of September 30, 2025.
- The program excludes military personnel and certain other federal employees.
- Employees must respond via their government email to accept the offer.
- The initiative is part of broader workforce reforms mandated by President Trump.
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- Many commenters express fears that the program may undermine democratic principles and promote loyalty to specific political agendas.
- There is speculation about potential misuse of the program, including concerns over spoofed resignation emails.
- Some comments highlight the shift towards loyalty-based evaluations in federal employment, questioning the meritocratic ideals traditionally upheld.
- Commenters draw parallels between current political tactics and historical patterns of decline in empires, suggesting a troubling trajectory for the U.S.
- Concerns are raised about the economic implications of treating government employment like a corporate entity, emphasizing the role of federal salaries in the economy.
18 commentsKey quote:
"Employees who accept deferred resignation should promptly have their duties re-assigned or eliminated and be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period (generally, September 30, 2025, unless the employee has elected another earlier resignation date), unless the agency head determines that it is necessary for the employee to be actively engaged in transitioning job duties, in which case employees should be placed on administrative leave as soon as those duties are transitioned."
Even how they painted Biden's pardons was pretty brilliant IMO. Trump had already pretty much telegraphed that he would pardon anyone who kissed up to him, and had been explicit about how he would use federal power to seek revenge. So while I was very much against Biden's pardon of his family, I'm sure Biden was probably like "F this shizz, it's not like holding the moral high ground is doing anyone any favors." But now, of course, anyone with Trump's blessing will get a pardon regardless of what they do, and they can point to Biden's pardons as "Dems did it first".
I think we are truly and surely fucked in the mid-long term - what we're going through looks pretty much exactly what all previous empires looked like when they fell into decline. It's just kind of stunning to watch with so much transparency.
Has there ever been a loyalty component to rank and file federal employment before? This seems to go against the meritocracy they claim to want.
If you do a great job, anything else shouldn't matter...
Discussion at reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1ibbbh7/this_was_p...
It's the things that aren't said that make it feel so Orwellian.
It's day 8. Good luck all.
Democrats better hope that this crashes and burns, because if this shows any chance of being effective, we're in for a tough authoritarian ride.
This seems especially spooky.
The money government spends on salaries is money directly injected back into the economy, it could be seen as a form of social welfare.
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