Related Articles
The reply-now-to-resign program that the Trump administration is offering federal employees, known as a “Fork in the Road,” is raising a lot of questions.
Incorrectly characterized by many publications as a “buyout” offer, the program is actually an ambiguous enticement to commit to a “deferred resignation,” whereby employees arrange to quit at the end of September — thereby avoiding the tumult of an administration that seeks to “downsize” the “majority of federal agencies.”
The Fork in the Road offer, extended by the federal Office of Personnel Management, is remarkably similar to an offer Trump mega-donor Elon Musk made to Twitter employees after purchasing X, formerly known as Twitter, and appears to be a marker of his sweeping influence over federal HR practices. Employees who wish to take up the offer are asked to reply to the offer with a single word: “Resign.”
Attempting to clarify its intentions, the Trump administration has offered federal workers a Fork FAQ — which itself raises new questions. A federal employee who works in the Department of Veterans Affairs alerted Rolling Stone to the FAQ, and also provided screenshots of recent department emails that undermine its claims.
The FAQ reads in part:
Why am I being offered deferred resignation?
The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes. [Y]ou may wish to depart the federal government on terms that provide you with sufficient time and economic security to plan for your future — and have a nice vacation.
Am I expected to work during the deferred resignation period?
No. Except in rare cases determined by your agency, you are not expected to work.
But that supposed “nice vacation” and no-work pledge is far from guaranteed.
First, as the FAQ addresses, the deferred resignation is not available to wide swaths of government employees, including “military personnel”; “employees of the U.S. Postal Service”; “positions related to immigration enforcement and national security”; or “other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.”
Second, the “rare” cases of being told to work until the resignation date do not appear to be rare at all.
An email from Acting Secretary Todd Hunter to Veterans Affairs employees sent this week offers few assurances.
First, Hunter’s letter first clarified that the strange “Fork in the Road” email “is legitimate and can be trusted.” Beyond that, his message clarifies that the only guarantee for those who resign is that it “exempts employees… from return-to-office requirements.”
It says that resigning employees “may” have their duties “reassigned or eliminated” and be put on “paid administrative leave.” Or they may not — if the VA determines that it’s “necessary for the employee to continue performing their duties.”
In other words: no nice vacation.
The Office of Personnel Management did not offer an on-the-record comment to Rolling Stone when questioned whether its enticement to quit is a bait-and-switch that could leave many outgoing federal employees saddled with work instead of enjoying paid leave. A spokesperson did offer that OPM’s guidance to departments was intentionally vague, allowing discretion to administrators to ensure proper staffing, and referred Rolling Stone to the VA.
A spokesperson for the VA insisted the acting director’s email was “consistent” with “OPM guidance” and pointed to an Jan. 28 OPM memo that advises that agency heads can continue to compel work from resignees who are “actively engaged in transitioning job duties.”
After originally publishing this story, Rolling Stone recieved copies of a new FAQ emailed to government employees encouraging them to “travel to their dream destination,” or even take another job during the deferred resignation period. The new document is strikingly ideological. “The way to greater American prosperity,” it reads, “is encouraging people to move from lower poductivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.” (A federal employee who shared the document calls the language “insulting” adding: “Whoever is sending these emails has never working in government before and has no idea of the magnitude of work that we do for the American people.”)
The original Fork in the Road FAQ clarifies that, once employees commit to resign, they have no automatic recourse to regain ongoing employment, and that the administration’s goals of downsizing and restructuring will “likely serve as a valid reason to deny recission requests.”
The VA employee, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, shared advice from the employee’s union that encourages members to “NOT resign.” It refers to the Fork in the Road initiative’s “vague promise of reward” and cautions: “There is not yet any evidence the administration can or will uphold its end of the bargain, that Congress will go along with this unilateral massive restructuring, or that appropriated funds can be used this way, among other issues.”
Updated: Jan. 31, to reflect second, anti-government, FAQ
