Attorney General Nessel Stands with Federal Workers in Challenge to “Fork in the Road” Deferred Resignation Offer

LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general, standing with the nation’s federal employees in a challenge to the Trump administration’s federal “buyout” plan.  The attorneys general moved to file an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) (PDF) filed by the plaintiffs in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, et al v. Ezell.  

“Michigan is home to tens of thousands of federal employees who serve our communities in a variety of critical ways, from the medical staff at our Veterans Affairs hospitals to the Transportation Security Administration staff who secure our airports, to the National Park Service rangers who preserve Isle Royale,” said Nessel. “The offers of an alleged deferred resignation were made across the board without consideration for mission needs or appropriate staffing levels and threaten the Federal government’s ability to provide necessary services to residents.  They go so far as to threaten our security. This thinly veiled attempt to replace dedicated public servants with administration loyalists is illegal, harmful, and must not be allowed to stand.”

On January 28, 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued mass communications offering most federal employees little more than a week (until February 6) to accept a “deferred resignation,” which purportedly would allow federal workers to resign, yet retain pay and benefits without showing up to work.  These communications often contained implicit threats of furloughs or layoffs that may otherwise impact their employment.  

The plaintiff unions filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, emphasizing that the directive and associated FAQs—which were revised multiple times—caused widespread confusion and dismay among federal employees, who were faced with an arbitrary deadline based on a directive that the plaintiff unions assert is illegal and contrary to federal ethics regulations.

On February 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., stayed the purported deadline of the “Fork directive” until Monday, February 10, 2025, with a hearing to be held at 2:00 p.m. that day in Boston.

As Attorney General Nessel emphasized in the coalition’s proposed amicus brief, the indiscriminate loss of indispensable federal employees could have a devastating effect on cooperative aspects of federal, state, and local government—from those who care for veterans to those who arrive when natural disaster strikes. The brief also describes the coercive nature of the directive to our Nation’s public servants. The coalition urged the court to grant a TRO to prevent this harm to federal workers and to protect the public interest.

Attorney General Nessel previously urged any Michigan residents considering the offer to exercise caution.

Joining Attorney General Nessel on the proposed brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

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