“I don't like this deferred resignation. I do think it is playing on people's fears," Michael L. Vogelsang, Jr. said.
Agencies are now offering the Deferred Resignation Program directly to employees, as opposed to a centralized Office of Personnel Management rollout. Funding is in place to pay workers through Sept. 30, but legal experts say the program is still in legally murky waters.
Some legal questions around the program still linger. For instance: What authority allows agencies to place employees on administrative leave for more than 10 days? And how enforceable is the agreement if an agency decides to change its mind later on?
The second round of the resignation program comes as potential layoffs are looming , and those early- or mid-career federal employees are feeling a lot of pressure to accept the program.
“This administration has been very clear that it wants to trim the federal government. I think the rollout of the terminations and the [reductions in force] have created this fear. Now, let’s do the second round of deferred resignations now that we have a fearful federal employee again. So what sounds planned to me is you give someone an option of hope, if they don’t take it — make the world difficult. Then you dangle the hope again to see who gets the second bite,” said Michael L. Vogelsang, Jr., a principal at the Employment Law Group.
Vogelsang said the program might be valuable for workers who are absolutely sure they will be terminated in the near future...
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