Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, HOUSE NEWS—Oversight and Government Reform Committee Dems challenge federal workforce ‘purge,’ ‘deferred resignation scam’, (Feb 5, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

An EO would purge more than 100,000 nonpartisan, civil servants and replace them with employees loyal to Trump. A resignation offer may be an “illegal scam” that will “decimate our civil service and cause immeasurable harm to the American public.”

In a pair of letters to the President dated February 3, 2025, Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee pushed back against President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s controversial actions to “purge” the federal workforce of what they called “nonpartisan civil servants, including career professionals and independent government watchdogs,” and an “illegal ‘deferred resignation’ scam offer to federal employees.”

The Democrats cited the Committee’s legislative jurisdiction over the federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel and the status of officers and employees of the United States, including their compensation, classification, and retirement. The Committee also has legislative jurisdiction over the Inspector General Act of 1978.

‘Purge of non-partisan civil servants.’ In one letter, the Democrats challenged Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order (EO), “Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions within the Federal Government,” which would establish a new category of positions in the federal service “Schedule Policy/Career” positions that are stripped of current civil service protections. “The EO proposes changes to the federal workforce that are similar to those proposed during your first Administration—referred to as ‘Schedule F’—that were met with widespread criticism for attempting to politicize the federal workforce,” the letter states. “The new EO, similar to the EO instituting Schedule F, would purge more than 100,000 nonpartisan, civil servants and replace them with employees loyal to you.”

“The sweeping scope of the new Schedule Policy/Career threatens to undermine the ability of civil servants to follow the law, science, and facts without fear of political retribution and could lead to a federal government filled with partisan loyalists rather than expert professionals,” the Democrats warned. “The changes implemented by this EO, compared to merit-based civil service systems, are strongly associated with lower government performance and greater corruption.”

To “help determine the instances in which the Trump Administration has violated the law or where the law should be amended to prevent abuses of power by the President or executive branch officials,” the Committee Members urged immediate responses to their requests for information and documents delineated in the letter. Among the requests was that the Acting Directors of the Offices of Personnel Management (OPM) and Management and Budget (OMB), provide by February 18, 2025, a list, updated weekly for the duration of the 119th Congress, of all positions that have been reclassified into the new Schedule Policy/Career, including: the titles and responsibilities of all reclassified positions; the names of all affected employees; and a justification for each reclassification.

‘Deferred resignation scam.’ In the second letter, the Democrats strongly opposed and condemned President Trump’s “efforts to purge our nation’s nonpartisan civil service by coercing federal employees into mass resignations.” They pointed to a January 28, 2025, email received by federal employees from the OPM, with the subject “Fork in the Road.” The email outlined a “deferred resignation offer” for federal employees with a February 6, 2025 deadline for response. “The resignation offer, which we are concerned is an illegal scam, will decimate our civil service and cause immeasurable harm to the American public,” the letter stated. “We demand that you immediately rescind this offer.”

The Democrats expressed concern that the “offer” “would precipitate a mass exodus of the most experienced and capable federal employees, leaving our agencies severely understaffed and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities.” They called it a “brain drain” that will be felt by every American. The letter notes that many federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, already struggle with understaffing that would only be exacerbated by the “offer.” “Without the expertise and institutional knowledge that so many federal employees bring to their work, our government will be incapable of responding effectively to national emergencies, serving the American public, or even carrying out routine operations.”

The letter underscored federal employees’ skepticism of the resignation offer. “The Administration does not appear to be acting pursuant to any buyout or severance authority outlined in Title V of U.S. Code” according to the Democrats. “The offer provides no legally binding or formal guarantees, the guidance that it gives employees is likely illegal, and the entire offer could be found to violate the AntiDeficiency Act.”

Given the urgency created by the February 6th resignation proposal deadline, Committee Democrats requested that the Executive Office of the President, OPM, and OMB provide documents and information related to the proposal no later than February 5, 2025.

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