TIL that the “Chief Human Capital Officers Council”, which has been a thing since 2002, issued a five-page guidance memo a couple of days ago on the deferred resignation program:
https://chcoc.gov/content/guidance-regarding-deferred-resignation-program
Was speaking with one of our office’s managers this morning. They informed me that late last night they had received notice that our Agency WAS NOT going to require union staff to RTO. I haven’t been able to find confirmation anywhere, but as I asked them, “How many times has this changed over the last week and a half?” They responded, “Three.” I observed that there was plenty of time for it to change many more times in the 4 weeks before 2/28 - the initial RTO date.
The manager also told me that several people in our office sound like they are going to accept the “deferred resignation” offer (or whatever that is best called.) They commented that, one way or another, management needs to be able to know how to staff our office’s various functions, and such staffing decisions generally require at least a little notice. But I guess that isn’t important…
They commented that staff are calling them all day every day with all manner of questions, and expressing their concerns and confusion. I don’t have to deal with anyone’s concerns other than my own. It would be challenging and stressful to be a manager and have to field so many questions for which you had so few answers.
Multiply the stress and time spent on such matters by 2 million employees across how many 10s of thousands of offices nationwide, and explain to me how that increases efficiency.
Yes. I can also imagine them voting a straight R ticket next election too.
One other thing - I heard -
and a quick Google seems to bear out - that the existence of federal employee unions was recognized by executive order - rather than an Act of Congress.
One thing Trump’s actions is accomplishing is exposing the somewhat tenuous nature of rights and relationships many of us may have thought set in stone.
Just received this from our union:
The Agency has rescinded the Return to Office Notice sent to the Union on 1/23/2025. In [the union’s] assessment, this is a meaningless rescission insofar as the Agency is seeking further guidance from OPM, and we anticipate receiving a new Notice. Let me assure you that [the union] will communicate with you when we have information to share.
Just as a reminder, on 1/24 (has it truly been less than a week ago?), the union told us:
The Agency has stated its intention to send an email, now supposedly sometime next week (NOTE: not received yet), to all Agency employees outlining the Agency’s new telework “policy.” This new “policy” is based on the Presidential Memorandum entitled "Return to In-Person Work” and is in direct contravention of the terms of our collective bargaining agreement. The Agency has conveyed to the Union that it was taking this action because, in its view, the Presidential Memorandum “has the force of law.”
The Union was [noticed] of this change yesterday, and the Agency subsequently scheduled a meeting with the local Presidents of the three [Agency] unions. During this meeting, [Agency] management representatives stated that the Agency intended to revise its telework policy issued under The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, 5 U.S.C. § 6502(a)(1)(A), to state that employees must work full-time at their respective official duty stations by no later than February 24, 2025. Agency representatives stated that the only established exclusion, at this point, was for “approved reasonable accommodations due to a disability or qualifying medical condition.”
Just such an amateurish way to enact a pretty significant change.
Meanwhile, tho it isn’t going to happen, pretty much 100% of civilian employees could choose to resign and go on admin leave next Friday - with NO prior notice. And exactly who would be manning the offices and answering the phones come Monday? The word I hear is that some 10% of our office’s staff are considering accepting this “deferred resignation.” I’m no genius, but I would think that planning for even a 10% - or even 5% - reduction of force is something best not done overnight with no notice.
Well there’s your problem. You think they bother to plan.
Don’t think that I didn’t briefly consider postponing my retirement from February 8 to September 30 because of this opportunity. I am a little surprised they are allowing “new” retirements, as opposed to ones for which a retirement form was already filled out (yes, there is an actual form you fill out to retire from the civil service), to be declared in this period.
Whether 45/47 won 49% or 51% might well be critical in context, but it’s how he got north of 25% which shows that this repeated result wasn’t simply the better angels being asleep at the wheel.
I mean, isn’t that the point? A bunch of people retire, and then they brag about their savings? Who gives a damn about service?
Yes, that’s an important point. It’s just profoundly frustrating how effective voter suppression has been, but the fact remains that a very significant swathe of American voters are apparently neo-Nazis. This is why I reject learned academic analyses seeking to probe the zeitgeist of modern America responsible for Trump V2.0. It’s not complicated. It’s because too many voters are ignorant shit-heads who willingly elected an equally ignorant tyrant, and are now enthusiastically celebrating each tyrannical thing he does. Tyrannical persecution is a great thing when it’s directed against your perceived inferiors but not against you or your peers.
Jeez, if only Biden had thought of that.
I posted this in the Clusterfuck thread, but it’s also relevant here: a federal HR director was removed from his position for refusing, in writing, to break the law.
Add more countries to the threatened list.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” Trump wrote Thursday referring to the global coalition that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.
Well there you go!
Somebody in the Trump economic advisors recognises that the loss of global reserve currency status represents an existential risk to the gravy train enjoyed by the US.
Most recent email:
We have received a number of questions regarding the deferred resignation program. Below are our top FAQs:
|Q:|Am I expected to work at my government job during the deferred resignation period?|
| — | — |
|A:|No.|
|Q:|Am I allowed to get a second job during the deferred resignation period?|
|A:|Absolutely! We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so. The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.|
|Q:|Will I really get my full pay and benefits during the entire period through September 30, even if I get a second job?|
|A:|Yes. You will also accrue further personal leave days, vacation days, etc. and be paid out for unused leave at your final resignation date.|
|Q:|Can I take an extended vacation while on administrative leave?|
|A:|You are most welcome stay at home and relax or to travel to your dream destination. Whatever you would like.|
I dunno if this reflects my lengthy gov’t service or my legal training/experience, but these sorts of communications generally are accompanied to citations to SOME sort of authority. Especially curious when just about every aspect of this “program” seems to be directly contrary to what I understand to have been longstanding policy and law.
It is really going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
Curiously, this week I received an internal email urging me to process my work more quickly than previously. Frame of reference, by the main measure of productivity I’m in the top 10 of some 1100 folk in my position. May not be the BEST way to encourage folk to go above and beyond… 
But what do I know?
Way to insult the workforce, implying that they are all low productivity.
Also, did they really not anticipate these kinds of questions when they first emailed the offer? Man, they really are making this up as they go along. I still wonder how the payout is going to work, given that VSIPS are not allowed to be more than $25K.
Are they saying you will still get weekly/monthly paychecks? Or a lump sum in the end?
That’s the thing. Take a look here:
You have to understand, these people really believe that most government workers don’t so much of anything. If they’re not sitting around playing Minesweeper on the computer all day, they’re making up useless regulations that cost Hard Working Americans time and money. They really think that if 90% of the government workforce just stopped working entirely, there would be an immediate improvement in every aspect of their lives.
They don’t see the thousands of things that get done that, while they may not directly generate revenue, protect the lives and health of Americans and other around the world. Preventing bird flu? Who does that help? /sarcasm
The real bottom line here — and I use that term with full awareness of its irony — is that they do not see service as productive. Service doesn’t make stuff. Service is just… service.
There are a few government workers that do, in fact, make stuff, in a sense that these goblins understand. But the majority of them serve the public. And it’s that service to the public that the goblins cannot countenance. Everyone should be on their own, left to their own devices, with no help. That’s how you separate the producers from the parasites.
That’s one of the details that’s been left unsaid so far. They’re calling it “deferred resignation,” so if I had to guess, I’d say it’ll probably be your usual stream of paychecks until 9/30.