State warns 150,000 federal workers in California about Trump’s ‘buy-out’ offer expiring Feb. 6

CALIFORNIA – California attorney general Rob Bonta warned federal employees, February 3, about the Trump Administration’s “deferred resignation” program.

The program purports to offer federal employees pay through September 30, 2025, if they resign by February 6, 2025.

California has nearly 150,000 federal workers who provide services to Americans nationwide.

Following the Trump Administration’s proposal, unions representing federal employees warned their members against accepting the offer, adding that employees who accepted the offer were not guaranteed its benefits.

According to Bloomberg, more than 20,000 employees — about 1% of the federal workforce — have taken up the administration’s buyout offer.

“I urge federal employees to heed warnings from their unions to be very cautious of any buyout offers,” said Bonta.

‘We’d love to have them leave’

On January 28, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email with the subject line ‘Fork in the Road’ to millions of federal employees detailing a new deferred resignation program.

Employees were told that if they accept the offer and resign, they would continue receiving all pay and benefits, and be exempt from in-person work requirements until September 30.

“We’d love to have them leave,” President Donald Trump said last week when asked about the message. “We’re trying to reduce the government.”

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-director Elon Musk previously offered a ‘Fork in the Road’ buyout to X (formerly Twitter) employees following his acquisition of the company in November 2022.

In July 2024, Musk successfully defended against a $500 million lawsuit alleging insufficient severance payments to 6,000 laid off employees.

‘Congress is responsible for workers’ pay’

In response to the email, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) announced that they would be working with Congress to do its job.

“NFFE is particularly focused on the violations of federal law and regulations perpetrated by the Trump administration every day to terminate or remove federal employees from their jobs, access and leak their personal information, and illegally redirect funding provided by Congress,” said the union in a statement.

In addition, employment lawyers questioned whether the offer was legal because Congress, not the White House, is responsible for authorizing workers’ pay.

‘Union leaders and are doing their members a disservice’

OPM, on Monday, said union leaders and their attorneys are doing their members a disservice.

“This is a rare, generous opportunity — one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring,” said OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover.

She goes on to say that instead of spreading misinformation they should be making sure federal employees have the facts to make the best decision for themselves and their families.

The “Fork in the Road” email says employees who stay won’t have a guaranteed job or position with their agency.