Interior Employees Get Second Round of DOGE Buyout Offers (1)

Interior Department bureaus began offering employees deferred resignations on Friday, according to employees who received the notices.

The notices offered the department’s Deferred Resignation/Retirement program (DRP) and DRP with Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) to eligible employees. They follow the “Fork in the Road” buyout offer orchestrated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January.

Each Interior Department bureau is sending their employees the notices, which offer early resignations and uninterrupted pay through the end of September, according to department employees who received the notices. The employees spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

“We are implementing necessary reforms to ensure fiscal responsibility, operational efficiency and government accountability,” the Interior Department said in an emailed statement Friday.

“Certain critical staffing positions—particularly those related to public safety, permitting, emergency response, and other mission-essential functions—are exempt from certain personnel actions,” the department’s statement said.

Many public-facing jobs are exempt from deferred resignation, according to a notice obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Exemptions include National Park Service employees who are required to work on site, National Wildlife Refuge visitor center employees, law enforcement officers, emergency responders, wildland firefighters, and others.

Employees who work on permitting related to oil and gas, logging, mining, grazing, the Endangered Species Act, and surveying are also exempt.

The notices were released one day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order requiring the National Park Service to keep national parks fully staffed.