CFPB Workers File Grievance to Block Deferred Resignation Plan

The union representing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees says that a deferred resignation proposal from the Office of Personnel Management is a violation of the law and their collective bargaining agreement.

The union filed an internal grievance Wednesday asking the CFPB to retract the deferred resignation program and allow any employee that has agreed to it to withdraw.

The program, announced in a Jan. 28 email from OPM, is a change in working conditions that is subject to bargaining under the agency’s CBA, the union says.

“The Bureau cannot bypass the Union to directly negotiate conditions of employment,” the unfair labor practice grievance, obtained by Bloomberg Law, said. The memo was sent internally to Sonya White, the agency’s deputy general counsel, legal division.

Under the CBA, the CFPB is supposed to give the union five working days to request a briefing on proposed changes to employment terms. The union then has 10 days to submit terms, the grievance says.

The CFPB can only unilaterally change working conditions if the union doesn’t provide written comments in that 10-day period, the grievance said.

The union added that there’s no authorization for the deferred resignation in federal law.

The CFPB didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the acting CFPB director, instructed the agency to stop any external communications in a Feb. 3 order.

CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez sent an email to agency employees Feb. 4 promising to provide more details about the deferred resignation policy on Wednesday, according to the grievance. A follow-up didn’t arrive prior to the filing of the grievance

An email from Martinez with a link to CFPB-specific FAQ and form agreement arrived in CFPB email boxes after 6 p.m. D.C. time, according to a CFPB probationary employee who was granted anonymity to prevent retaliation.

The deadline for accepting the deferred resignation deal, which purports to allow employees to be paid until September, is 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 6.

Any employee that doesn’t accept the offer could be fired immediately, according to OPM.

At-Risk Workers

Probationary workers who joined the CFPB in the past year are especially vulnerable, the union says. OPM has asked for a list of probationary workers government-wide and asked agencies to justify allowing them to keep their jobs.

But probationary workers are protected by reduction in force regulations, according to the CFPB employee with that status.

Even if the union loses on this grievance, the case would move to a neutral arbitrator who would then rule, the employee said.

“This isn’t a real offer,” the employee said. “This is basically just cover for when they try to fire people to say, ‘We gave you an exit option here.’”

While the grievance process moves forward, CFPB employees, particularly those on probation, are booking doctor’s appointments for themselves and their children in anticipation of losing their health insurance, the CFPB employee said.

‘Greediest Boss’

The union said the deferred resignation push from OPM and other efforts driven by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency has resulted in a spike in membership, with more than 100 new members in the past two weeks.

“Despite these attempts to pressure workers into quitting and giving up our rights, workers are not fooled,” Cat Farman, the president for the CFPB union, said in an email to Bloomberg Law.

“If the boss is the best organizer then Elon is the greediest boss we’ve ever seen,” she said.