The Trump administration’s offer to federal employees of deferred resignation with the promise of pay through September violates federal civil service protections, Democratic attorneys general from across the country argued in a court brief.
The AGs from 20 states and Washington, D.C. filed the amicus brief Feb. 9 in support of labor unions suing the Office of Personnel Management to challenge the policy—titled Fork in the Road—in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The court is scheduled to hear arguments later Monday and could decide whether to issue a temporary restraining order to block or further delay the plan. US District Judge George O’Toole Jr. ruled last week to delay the Feb. 6 deadline the Trump administration initially set for employees to decide. The American Federation of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO, and others filed the lawsuit, claiming the plan violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
The states backing the challengers “routinely rely on partnerships with federal employees and the expertise of the federal workforce for delivery of critical services,” the Democratic attorneys, led by the AGs of Hawaii and Massachusetts, argued in their brief. “The Fork Directive disrupts these relationships and undermines the stability of federal agencies and services,” potentially including the ability to respond to natural disasters and provide care for military veterans “to name only a few examples.”
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire Elon Musk, initially sent the deferred resignation offer to 2 million federal employees Jan. 28, raising career uncertainty for the workers and particularly those who are close to retirement.
A coalition of Republican AGs also filed a brief in the case Feb. 9 supporting the Trump administration and defending the president’s authority to make personnel decisions.
A separate group—the State Democracy Defenders Fund and 22 individuals identified as former public officials and legal scholars—also filed a Feb. 9 brief backing the plaintiffs and disputing the Trump administration’s argument that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.
The case is Am. Fed. of Gov’t Emp. v. Ezell, D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-10276, amicus briefs filed 2/9/25
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