State Attorney General Dana Nessel in Southfield on Nov. 6, 2023. | Ken Coleman
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Sunday joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general to challenge the Trump administration’s so-called “buyout” plan for federal employees.
The plan was communicated through a Jan. 28 email with the heading “Fork in the Road” and was sent to workers across almost every federal agency. It offered a “deferred resignation” in which employees could reply with the word “resign” by Thursday for a “dignified, fair departure” that promised full pay and benefits through September 2025, with the option of continuing to work from home.
Nessel joins a dozen state AGs in warning federal employees of Trump ‘deferred resignation’ offer
Last week, Nessel joined with 12 other attorneys general in warning federal employees to be wary of the offer, calling it “misleading.”
This latest action involved the attorneys general moving to file an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) 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.”
The plaintiff unions filed suit in the U.S. 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 given an arbitrary deadline based on a directive that the unions assert is illegal and contrary to federal ethics regulations.
“The federal workforce was provided mere days to consider a proposal — affecting their careers and livelihoods with unclear, ever-evolving terms. … Nor is it even clear which federal workers are eligible for the offer in the first place. … The information imbalance is extreme,” stated the brief.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. stayed the purported deadline of the “Fork directive” until a hearing Monday afternoon in Boston.
Joining 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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