If and when to voluntarily retire or leave a job is a personal and professional choice. BUT if you are considering voluntarily leaving any job due to the promise of getting pay or other benefits, you want to be sure that you know with specificity what those promises are, and that the promises are enforceable.
This is exactly why federal employees considering taking the new deferred resignation program should be fully aware of what is actually being offered, and the risks they take by accepting this option so that they can make an appropriate and informed decision.
What the Program Promises
Under the deferred resignation program offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”), federal employees can choose to resign by February 6, 2025, and if they do, OPM promises that in exchange
“[Y]ou 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).”
This “offer” was sent to all federal employees on January 28, 2025. The full terms are laid out here.
The Risks and Uncertainties of the Program’s Promises
There is no guarantee that if you take this option, you will get any financial benefit and/or changes to your working conditions other than telework, from now until you resign on September 30, 2025. However, the wording from OPM may cause some people to assume otherwise.
OPM says that federal employees will get all pay and benefits “regardless of your daily workload” which seems to imply that OPM is offering a significantly reduced workload if you take the offer, or even that you will get paid while not having to work at all (akin to administrative leave). However, employees should be wary of relying on this proposed benefit. There is no basis for federal agencies to allow people to do little to no work for full pay in exchange for a resignation. There are specific times where a federal agency can place someone on administrative leave without pay, and this is just not one of them. Congress could choose to fund this, but has not done so to date.
Moreover, the language in the form resignation letter that employees are being asked to submit to “accept” the offer leaves a lot of room for the government to fail to, or refuse to, uphold its end of the bargain, or even to argue that your acceptance of this offer does not form the basis for a contract like a severance agreement would. The form acceptance letter states:
“I am certain of my decision to resign and my choice to resign is fully voluntary. I understand my employing agency will likely make adjustments in response to my resignation including moving, eliminating, consolidating, reassigning my position and tasks, reducing my official duties, and/or placing me on paid administrative leave until my resignation date.”
Thus, when you “accept” this offer you are actually submitting a voluntary resignation as of September 30, 2025. Even if you are placed on paid administrative leave following your voluntary resignation, there is no guarantee that the government will not eliminate your position, terminate you, reschedule your position, or subject you to a Reduction in Force in the interim period. If the government does this, it may argue that it does not need to continue to pay you until your September 30, 2025 “voluntary” resignation date.
If you are asked to sign a separation agreement as part of acceptance of this offer, that could further impact your rights, as it is likely that you would waive future claims against the government resulting from your resignation.
You May Not Be Able To Withdraw Your Resignation
Once you resign, there is no guarantee that the agency that you work for will allow you to withdraw your resignation. Under the
An agency may permit an employee to withdraw his resignation at any time before it has become effective. An agency may decline a request to withdraw a resignation before its effective date only when the agency has a valid reason and explains that reason to the employee. A valid reason includes, but is not limited to, administrative disruption or the hiring or commitment to hire a replacement. Avoidance of adverse action proceedings is not a valid reason.
See 5 C.F.R. § 715.202. In short, Agencies have broad discretion to decide if you have a “valid reason” for withdrawing your resignation, and you should proceed with appropriate caution.
What if I do not want to resign, but I require a telework accommodation for my disability?
The deferred resignation program opens by outlining the “four pillars” around which the new administration intends to reform the federal government, one of which is ending remote work. One of the stated benefits offered in the deferred resignation program is being “exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025.” The applicable in-person work requirements include the President’s “Return To In-Person Work” memorandum, and OPM’s Memorandum re: Guidance on Presidential Memorandum Return to In-Person Work.
If you are considering retiring because you need telework due to a disability, and you are concerned that such telework will be canceled, nothing in these changes to telework policies changes employees’ rights to reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act prohibit discrimination against federal employees because of their disability. Employees with qualifying disabilities are entitled to “reasonable accommodations” that will allow them to perform the essential functions of their job, so long as it does not cause an “undue hardship” to the agency. Retaliation against employees for seeking a reasonable accommodation, or protesting unlawful conduct, is also prohibited.
Neither the President, OPM, nor the federal agency you work for can overrule the legal requirements to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. In fact, moreover, the “Return To In-Person Work” memorandum states that “the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” and the OPM Memorandum re: Guidance on Presidential Memorandum Return to In-Person Work explicitly makes exceptions for disability accommodations.
If you had your telework rescinded or denied, or have questions about how the changes in telework policy impact your reasonable accommodation, you should consult with an employment lawyer to determine your options.
