Former Voice of America employees are calling for the dismissal of voluntary agreements they made last year to leave their jobs, after a federal judge ruled that the dismantling of VOA in 2025 was illegal.
Four former VOA employees, all of whom accepted separation offers in 2025, filed a case with the Merit Systems Protection Board and are seeking class certification. They argued that in light of the judge’s orders to reinstate forcibly removed staff, those who left voluntarily should also be entitled to get their jobs back.
The plaintiffs, represented by Gilbert Employment Law, said they only entered into separation agreements last year under the assumption that they would otherwise be laid off in a reduction in force (RIF), as part of the dismantling of VOA. But since the RIF was ruled unlawful, the employees say their separation agreements should also be tossed out.
“The agency’s clear intent was to induce employees to accept these offers as an alternative to being separated by the RIF, and all appellants accepted the offers on that basis,” the plaintiffs wrote in their MSPB filing, obtained by Federal News Network. “Because both parties mistakenly believed the agency could conduct a RIF, the agreements were based upon a material mistake of fact and are voidable.”
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