WASHINGTON — A spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management stated that approximately 75,000 federal employees have agreed to the White House’s intriguing “deferred resignation” proposition. This offer allows employees to resign but continue to receive pay through September. The deadline for this offer closed on Wednesday following a federal judge’s decision to end a temporary pause on the program.
NBC News has not been able to independently verify the exact number of employees who opted for the White House’s offer. The reported figure represents less than 5% of the total federal workforce. The administration had originally hoped for a higher acceptance rate, aiming for 5% to 10% of federal employees taking up the offer. The revelation of the number of employees who accepted this offer first surfaced through reporting by Semafor.
In the fiscal year 2023, the attrition rate of the federal workforce stood at 5.9%, according to the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting government service.
Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. gave the go-ahead for the resignation offer to proceed after having previously issued an order to temporarily halt it. In his ruling on Wednesday, O’Toole emphasized that the unions who filed the lawsuit to stop the offer lacked the necessary legal standing to bring the case to court.
In response to O’Toole’s decision, the Office of Personnel Management expressed satisfaction, stating, “We are pleased that the court has rejected a desperate attempt to invalidate the Deferred Resignation Program.” The spokesperson for the OPM, McLaurine Pinover, announced in a statement that as of 7:00 PM that day, the program was officially closed. Pinover further emphasized, “It is now beyond doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees. This program was meticulously crafted, thoroughly scrutinized, and offers generous benefits to enable federal workers to plan for their futures.”
