OPM Sends "Fork in the Road" Deferred Resignation Offer to 2.3 Million Federal Workers

The Office of Personnel Management sent an email to approximately 2.3 million federal civilian employees offering eight months of paid administrative leave in exchange for immediate resignation, calling it a "Fork in the Road." The offer, modeled on Musk's 2022 Twitter ultimatum, gave workers until February 6 to decide. Roughly 75,000 employees accepted. Federal employee unions and multiple courts challenged the offer's legality, and a Boston federal judge later ruled the email was unlawful because it lacked congressional authorization for the payment terms.