Deferred Resignation Program for Federal Employees
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, are demanding answers about the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) unprecedented “deferred resignation” program offered to over two million federal employees. On January 28, 2025, federal employees received an email from OPM offering continued salary and benefits through September 30, 2025, if they submitted their resignations by February 6. A federal judge has since extended this deadline to February 10, pending further legal review.
“Not only do the promises made to federal workers in this program contravene existing law, but by promising unlimited numbers of federal workers the opportunity to “stay at home and relax or to travel to your dream destination” with their full salary and benefits for a staggering eight-month period, OPM will contribute untold amounts to government waste and inefficiency,” wrote the senators.
“Of chief concern, because the program is not legally binding and OPM cannot legally commit to program participants that they will ‘retain all pay and benefits’ until September 30, 2025, these actions risk causing lasting harm to hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the country,” continued the senators.
The senators expressed grave concerns about OPM’s authority to guarantee pay and benefits beyond March 14, 2025, when current congressional appropriations expire. They also raised serious questions about reports of unauthorized email servers at OPM with access to federal employees’ personal information, and the involvement of employees from Elon Musk-owned companies in demanding sensitive employment data.
Of particular concern is the sweeping waiver of employee rights included in the program’s agreement template, which strips participants of protections available under collective bargaining agreements and through the Merit Systems Protection Board. The senators also questioned the unprecedented nature of OPM bypassing agency leadership to communicate directly with staff of other agencies.
In their letter to Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Peters and Blumenthal also requested comprehensive documentation, including weekly data on employee participation, detailed cost analyses, and records related to the program’s development. They also demanded information about the involvement of non-government individuals and plans for measuring the program’s impact on federal services.
“The federal government and the American people count on these officials to operate in a professional and non-partisan way to hold our government accountable—regardless of who is in power,” the senators added. “Without strong, qualified, and independent officials to lead these critical efforts, the Administration risks wasting taxpayer dollars, and allowing fraud and misconduct to go unchecked.”
The senators set a deadline of February 18, 2025, for OPM to provide written responses and schedule a briefing with Committee members and staff.
The full text of the letter can be found here.