When is the federal resignation deadline? Here's what you need to know

WASHINGTON - A judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's plan offering incentives to more than two million federal workers to get them to resign. 

Those federal employees originally faced a deadline to submit their resignations by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday but that has now been pushed to 11:59 p.m. on Monday.

This buyout is led by Elon Musk, one of President Donald Trump’s advisers, who has organized a financial incentive for workers to leave their government jobs by offering several months of pay in exchange for their resignation, the Associated Press reported. 

White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said over 40,000 federal workers have applied to leave in return for being paid until Sept. 30, according to the AP. 

"We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer," she said at about the same time as the judge's ruling came out. "They don’t want to come into the office. If they want to rip the American people off, then they’re welcome to take this buyout and we’ll find highly qualified people" to replace them.

When is the deadline?

The deadline for federal employees to submit their deferred resignation is now 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 10.

What is deferred resignation? Is it a buyout?

Deferred resignation means you submit your resignation to your employer but continue to receive a salary for a pre-determined amount of time.

According to the Office of Personnel Management, those who choose to do deferred resignation are not expected to work during this time, except in rare cases determined by their agency. 

The administration says the deferred resignation program will save taxpayer money by presenting employees with "a valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until Sept. 30 but some are cautioning against calling this a "buyout" because the terms remain so vague. 

On Wednesday, one day before the intial deadline, the administration ramped up its pressure on employees to leave, sending a reminder that layoffs or furloughs could come next.

Who is ELIGIBLE for the buyout?

OPM says deferred resignation is available to all full-time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency. 

That still includes more than two million workers — analysts, nurses, scientists, accountants, food inspectors and loan processors are facing the deadline.

The Associated Press reports that the federal government employed more than three million people as of November last year, which accounted for nearly 1.9% of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center. 

The average tenure for a federal employee is nearly 12 years, according to a Pew analysis of data from OPM.

READ MORE: Trump offers federal workers buyout with 8 months' pay

Who is NOT ELIGIBLE for the buyout?

The Trump administration offered the buyout to all full-time federal employees except:

"Military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and those in any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency."

What happens if you TAKE the buyout?

According to the memo:

"If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program. This program begins effective January 28 and is available to all federal employees until February 6. If you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason)."

How do you resign if you take the buyout?

An emailed message sent in January includes a "deferred resignation letter" for federal employees to begin leaving their posts.

The email includes instructions on how to accept, saying: "If you wish to resign: Select ‘Reply’ to this email. You must reply from your government account." It adds: "Type the word ‘Resign’ into the body of this email and hit ‘send.’"

What happens if you DON’T TAKE the buyout?

"If you choose to remain in your current position we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce," the memo states. "At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions."

The memo continues that the reformed federal workforce will be built around four pillars:

1. Return to Office: The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since Covid will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week. Going forward, we also expect our physical offices to undergo meaningful consolidation and divestitures, potentially resulting in physical office relocations for a number of federal workers.

2. Performance culture: The federal workforce should be comprised of the best America has to offer. We will insist on excellence at every level — our performance standards will be updated to reward and promote those that exceed expectations and address in a fair and open way those who do not meet the high standards which the taxpayers of this country have a right to demand.

3. More streamlined and flexible workforce: While a few agencies and even branches of the military are likely to see increases in the size of their workforce, the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force. These actions are likely to include the use of furloughs and the reclassification to at-will status for a substantial number of federal employees.

4. Enhanced standards of conduct: The federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work. Employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward. Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination.

NewsDonald J. Trump