A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s Thursday deadline for federal employees to apply for a deferred resignation program, allowing them to keep their pay and benefits through September 30.
U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr. issued the ruling, suspending the deadline until Monday to allow time for additional legal filings and a scheduled court hearing that afternoon. The delay means federal workers who were considering the buyout option will have a few more days to decide their next steps.
The deferred resignation program, part of the administration’s broader efforts to reduce the federal workforce, would have also exempted participating employees from the return-to-office mandate. The administration had hoped that between 5 and 10 percent of the 2.3 million federal employees would voluntarily resign before the midnight deadline. So far, more than 40,000 have opted in, with expectations that the number would rise.
The judge’s decision follows a lawsuit filed by labor unions earlier this week, arguing that the administration’s buyout offer was “arbitrary and capricious.” The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pushed back, calling the extension unnecessary and warning that it could disrupt federal workforce planning.
“Extending the deadline for the acceptance of deferred resignation on its very last day will markedly disrupt the expectations of the federal workforce,” OPM said in a court filing Thursday, adding that the delay could create uncertainty for those who had already agreed to resign.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the program, saying, “We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer. We’ll find highly competent individuals who want to fill these roles.”
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