Policy Alert: Administration Continues Actions Targeting Federal Workforce

Action: The Administration has continued a variety of actions targeting the Federal workforce. On February 22, Federal workers received an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directing them to respond with a summary of “what you accomplished last week.” On X, Elon Musk stated that failure to respond would be “taken as a resignation.”

The Administration has also proceeded with efforts to fire Federal employees, though efforts so far have been mostly limited to recent employees who are still in a probationary period and therefore lack the full protections provided other civil servants. According to one count, about 30,000 employees (out of about 2 million) have been affected. In addition, the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages Federal buildings, has reportedly issued a notice to employees that it will conduct a “reduction in force” (RIF) to help reduce the agency’s spending by 50%.      

Key Insights

• Significant uncertainty hangs over the Administration’s actions as court decisions have blocked or paused some measures and conflicting messages from administration officials have led to confusion.
• The February 22 email immediately touched off confusion with several agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Energy, directing staff not to respond. Some agencies expressed concern that the request could result in the disclosure of classified information (though the email noted that responses should not include classified information), with the Department of Health and Human Services directing employees to “assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors.” Other agencies, including the IRS and EPA, directed staff to respond.
• The status of the memo and employees’ duties remains unclear. On a February 24 call with the interagency Chief Human Capital Officers Council, OPM reportedly informed agencies that compliance with the email was voluntary. However, an OPM memo issued the same day stated that staff should reply, but that agencies may exempt personnel from the requirement if they explain the exemption to OPM. The memo also states that agencies may determine the consequences for nonresponses.
• Several employee unions have sued the government, arguing that OPM’s actions violate laws which authorize agency heads to make employment decisions.
• Some of the firings of probationary employees may be reversed. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates illegal actions taken against Federal employees, has determined that the firing of at least six employees was illegal, which may set precedent for reinstating many more employees with similar cases. OSC has referred its decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which will decide whether to reinstate the employees. The chair of the MSPB was herself fired by the President, but a court reinstated her by temporary restraining order after finding that her case is likely to succeed on its merits once fully litigated.
• GSA’s actions may signal that other agencies will follow suit with their own RIFs, which could be used to target a much larger number of civil servants.