AG Brown, 11 state attorneys general warn federal employees about misleading buyout offer

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Nick Brown today joined a coalition of 12 state attorneys general warning federal employees about President Donald Trump’s misleading “deferred resignation” program, which purports to offer federal employees pay through Sept. 30 if they resign by Feb. 6.

“I urge federal employees from Washington state, or those working in our state, to contact their union if they are curious about this so-called buyout offer,” Brown said. “When I was a U.S. attorney, I saw firsthand the important and needed public services that federal employees provide. These shameless attacks on our federal workforce by a lawless president must stop.”

On Jan. 28, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email 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 Sept. 30. OPM sent another email to federal employees reiterating the offer and urging them to find “higher productivity” jobs outside of government. The OPM emails instructed employees that they have until Feb. 6 to decide to remain in their position or resign under the deferred resignation program, and warned that those who did not resign were not guaranteed to keep their jobs.

Immediately following OPM’s email, unions representing federal employees warned their members against accepting the offer. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union, released information for its members warning them that employees who accepted the offer were not guaranteed its benefits. The National Federation of Federal Employees similarly warned its members against accepting the offer.

Joining Brown in strongly recommending caution to federal employees are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.

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