Buyout blocked: Judge extends pause on Trump federal worker plan
A federal judge in Boston extended his block Monday on the Trump administration’s deadline for more than 2 million federal employees to accept a controversial buyout after labor unions challenged the plan's legality.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole, who had paused the buyout offer Thursday, issued a temporary restraining order Monday against the program. He said the order would remain in place "until I respond to the issues presented."
About 65,000 federal workers signed up for the program through Friday - and the Trump administration in response to Monday's ruling extended the deadline for more people to join. The goal of the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, is to shrink the federal workforce as part of an effort to save trillions in spending.
More: Federal employees on Trump's buyout offer: 'The bridge is burned.'
The department has also sought to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides foreign aid, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, a consumer watchdog set up in 2011 after the financial crisis.
Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton called the buyout plan a "humane off-ramp" for those frustrated by Trump's decision to reduce the size of the workforce and end the ability of many of them to work from home.
But four unions – the American Federation of Government Employees; the AFL-CIO; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the National Association of Government Employees – warned that there’s no guarantee Trump can or will stick to the program.
And critics have noted that Trump is promising to pay salaries into September when the government is only funded up to mid-March.
More: Trump bristles at the courts as White House pushes executive power
Unions also questioned how the workers’ pensions, health insurance and other benefits would be affected.
A lawyer for the unions said the plan had been carried out in a "slap dash" fashion with little regard to how it might disrupt operations at agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"They failed to consider the continued functioning of government," lawyer Elena Goldstein said.
Under what the administration called a deferred resignation plan, workers were invited to leave their jobs now and continue to be paid through Sept. 30. The initial deadline Thursday was postponed until Monday because of the court battle.
According to an administration memo sent to federal employees Monday and obtained by USA TODAY, the deferred resignation plan has since been extended.
“In compliance with an order issued today by the District Court of Massachusetts granting a request to extend the Deferred Resignation Program, the program remains open to resignations,” the memo said.
Jessica Guynn contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge blocks Trump buyout offer to federal workers