Federal judge pauses Trump federal worker buyouts

A federal judge on Thursday extended the deadline for federal workers to accept the Trump administration’s sweeping buyout offer. 

The court will weigh the merits of the bid to block the offer in a Monday hearing.

The move comes as the government had set a Thursday deadline for federal workers to determine whether they wanted to take the deal — something they could do by simply replying “resign.”

Workers will now have until Monday to accept the deal, giving more time to weigh the unusual offer.

It’s one that faces numerous legal and logistical challenges.

The buyouts promise employees eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for leaving the federal workforce, telling workers they would be off the hook for showing up to work and would be free to get another job.

But numerous provisions in the contract for the offer undercut those claims, saying employees could still have to work and may be barred from outside employment.

And while the Trump administration assured workers they would be paid regardless of federal funding set to lapse in March, the contract bars employees from nearly all forms of recourse to challenge any issues with the offer.

“We are pleased the court temporarily paused this deadline while arguments are heard about the legality of the deferred resignation program. We continue to believe this program violates the law, and we will continue to aggressively defend our members’ rights,” American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President Everett Kelley said in a statement.

AFGE, which challenged the offer, had warned against taking it, arguing employees would be left in a lurch.

Their suit argues that the Office of Personnel Management doesn’t have the authority to make such an offer and that the deal’s rollout violates the Administrative Procedures Act.

It also takes issue with the lack of guaranteed funding for the offer, saying it violates the Antideficiency Act, which requires government agencies to use funding as intended.

While AFGE’s suit challenges the legality of the offer, the Monday hearing will weigh whether to further block the buyouts as litigation continues.

The White House has said that at least 40,000 federal employees have already accepted the deal, a number they have said they expect to increase as the deadline approaches.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was glad the timeline for the offer was extended.

“We are grateful to the judge for extending the deadline so more federal workers who refuse to show up to the office can take the Administration up on this very generous, once-in-a-lifetime offer,” she said in a statement.

Alex Gangitano and The Associated Press contributed. Updated at 3:30 p.m.