A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s offer of buyouts to federal workers, after labor unions challenged it. US District Judge George O’Toole said in the brief hearing that the pause will allow both sides to submit arguments. Thursday, February 6 was the deadline for employees to accept the controversial packages; workers will now have until Monday, February 10 to accept the deal, giving more time to weigh the offer.
Per NBC NEWS, the pause stems from a lawsuit that the American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed in US District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the February 6 deadline. The unions also want to “require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, rather than an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum which workers may not be able to enforce.”
The buyouts promises employees eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for leaving the federal workforce; but numerous provisions in the contract for the offer undercut those claims, saying employees could still have to work and may be barred from outside employment. More than 60,000 federal workers have already accepted the package, an administration official told CNN on Thursday.
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president Everett Kelley said in a statement: “We are pleased the court temporarily paused this deadline while arguments are heard about the legality of the deferred resignation program. We continue to believe this program violates the law, and we will continue to aggressively defend our members’ rights.”
Editorial credit: Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock.com