Unions sue Trump administration over ‘arbitrary and capricious’ employee buyout offers

As a deadline looms for government employees to fold to an ultimatum given by the Trump administration to either accept a buyout or return to the office, unions representing those workers have filed a lawsuit, calling the offer “arbitrary and capricious.”

The Trump administration is offering buyouts for nearly 2 million federal employees, including those who work remotely, as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to get employees back into the office, but they only have until Feb. 6 to opt-in.

Under the buyout offer, the employee will stop working this week and receive pay benefits through Sept. 30.

Exempt from the offer are public safety employees, like air traffic controllers.

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During Trump’s first week in office, he issued several directives to the federal workforce, including a requirement that remote employees must return to in-person work.

With a deadline quickly approaching, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two other unions filed a complaint, claiming the buyout offer is “arbitrary and capricious” and violates federal law.”

The unions allege the administration cannot guarantee the plan will be funded and has failed to consider the consequences of mass resignations, including how it may affect the government’s ability to function.

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On Tuesday, AFGE filed a lawsuit calling for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the Trump administration’s “Fork Directive” deadline of Feb. 6 and require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, not arbitrary and unlawful.

The union said the “Fork Directive” is the administration’s latest attempt to remove public service workers and replace them with partisan loyalists. The group also says the directive amounts to a clear ultimatum to a sweeping number of federal employees: “resign now or face the possibility of job loss without compensation in the near future.”

But the unions say the package being offered violates the law because the funds used to pay the employees who accept the offer have not been appropriated for that reason.

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“AFGE is bringing this suit with our partners today to protect the integrity of the government and prevent union members from being tricked into resigning from the federal service,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “Federal employees shouldn’t be misled by slick talk from unelected billionaires and their lackeys. Despite claims made to the contrary, this deferred resignation scheme is unfunded, unlawful, and comes with no guarantees. We won’t stand by and let our members become the victims of this con.”

Last week, a government-wide email was sent out to ensure all federal workers were on board with the Trump administration’s plan.

The email pointed to four pillars that Trump set forth, to bring accountability back to the federal government, including a return to in-person work, restored accountability for employees who have policymaking authority, restored accountability for senior executives, and a reformed federal hiring process based on merit.

The email noted that the majority of federal employees who have worked remotely since COVID will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week.

For those who returned to office, the Trump administration thanked them for their “renewed focus” on serving the American people. But the future of their position could not be guaranteed, according to the email.

The buyouts do not apply to military personnel of the armed forces, postal service employees, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and any other positions specifically excluded by the agency the federal workers are employed by.

The White House is expecting a “spike” in federal resignations ahead of a Thursday deadline for a buyout offer, Fox News Digital has learned.

“The number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and we’re expecting the largest spike 24 to 48 hours before the deadline,” a White House official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning. 

Axios reported earlier Tuesday that roughly 20,000 federal employees have taken the offer, accounting for about 1% of the federal government’s workforce. 

The White House official told Fox News Digital following the report’s publication that the 20,000 figure “isn’t current.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.