5 ms·

Trump Offers Buyouts to Federal Employees in Bid to Cut Workforce

22 points by m348e912 2y ago

m348e912 2y ago
Federal workers have until February 6th to decide to either return to office or take a payout that includes pay and benefits through September 30th. https://archive.is/J2PjY https://archive.is/J2PjY
TrackerFF 2y ago
If Elmo is involved in this, you might want to get those 8 months of pay upfront.
- amazingamazing 2y ago
  I always wonder why people create these ridiculous nicknames. Are there maybe more children on this site than I thought?
  - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
    I think the change in standards of presidential discourse have affected how we talk to each other; e.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Dona....
    - amazingamazing 2y ago
      Trump is hardly an example to follow, but you’re probably right.
      - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
        Ya, but Trump is also the kind of person who doesn’t like to be called names but likes calling people names. A lot of people are going to feel compelled to lean into that. It is going to be a long 4 years.
  - jprd 2y ago
    Wait. You think the problem is "children" on the VC cult website? You see no issues with the CEO of five companies who bought his way into U.S. politics and being a complete clown show of K-hole takes that go against everything the Constitution was written to hold as sacred being criticized for his BS? Cool. Nicknames help us deal with the reality of an Apartheid cult gaining influence on our government.
  - TomK32 2y ago
    Act like a reasonable adult and people will be nice to you and call your by your given (or chosen) name.
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    I think it's partly down to Twitter. On Twitter there are or were certain names (and Elon Musk was one of the worst) which it was unwise to say, because those people have hordes of weird obsessive fans who search for the name of their beloved, and pop in to sealion. Thus, nicknames. Not really a factor here, of course.
- lawn 2y ago
  Trump has a long history of not paying people too. He even balks at paying for the location of his rallies. Suffice to say, not a very trustworthy pair.
Terr_ 2y ago
Is that kind of financial-decision something the President can reliably promise under current law, as opposed to needing Congressional involvement? Does it apply to people dismissed because the President demanded to know how they voted and didn't like the answer?
- grajaganDev 2y ago
  >President can reliably promise under current law, as opposed to needing Congressional involvement? I don't think so and your question was not addressed in the article. Seems like very biased and irresponsible reporting. >Does it apply to people dismissed because the President demanded to know how they voted and didn't like the answer? Good point - I would expect they get nothing.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - Terr_ 2y ago
    > I would expect they get nothing. A Not-Actually-Fun-Fact I learned today: Even the Nazis doing their early purge of the German government [0] still found it necessary to offer 3 months of severance and 3/4ths continued pension. [0] The 1933 legislation was against "officials whose previous political activities do not guarantee that they will always be fully committed to the national state."
- m348e912 2y ago
  The president is the head of the executive branch so technically he can make the decision to implement a new work policy. That doesn't mean it won't be challenged and that the courts won't have an opportunity to overturn it. Procedurally it reminds me when the Biden administration issued a mandate for federal workers and federal contractors to be vaccinated for Covid 19. That mandate was ultimately blocked and overturned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-federal-workers-appeals-court/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-federal-w...
grajaganDev 2y ago
Does a budget for the payouts exist? If not, this is a misleading headline.
- m348e912 2y ago
  The federal fiscal year ends Sept 31, so it's possible that funding will remain in place until that time. We will see!
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
stevenwoo 2y ago
The federal government is not allowed to pay more than 25000 unless Trump is proposing legislation to change this that is not mentioned. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/voluntary-separation-incentive-payments/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restruct...
- m348e912 2y ago
  I think severed employees are expected to continue to work from home through Sept 31. This doesn't appear to be a complete one-time payout.
  - jprd 2y ago
    Pretty sure our government isn't advanced enough to make Severance real. I am also confident that the current Administration would fumble if given the chance.
    - m348e912 2y ago
      It's actually more of a deferred resignation. I think even the US gov't can handle that.
grajaganDev 2y ago
The Reddit thread has supposed screen shots of the email: https://old.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1icfqi5/voluntary_resignations_requested/ https://old.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1icfqi5/voluntary_...
- m348e912 2y ago
  It has the same vibe as the email Elon sent to twitter employees soon after the buyout. https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/musk-to-begin-layoffs-of-twitter-employees-starting-this-week/ https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/musk-to-begin-layoffs-of...
roncesvalles 2y ago
Title is clickbait. It's a buyout for workers that refuse to RTO. The official statement verbatim: "After four years of incompetence and failure, President Donald Trump is committed to making our government efficient and productive again. American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers. If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of eight months."
- m348e912 2y ago
  The title is straight from the WSJ, HN doesn't allow you to editorialize titles.
  - awnird 2y ago
    dang will editorialize any titles that don't fit YC's agenda. Some titles are even automatically edited upon submission.
    - m348e912 2y ago
      That's up to dang. I'm just doing what I'm told :)
  - roncesvalles 2y ago
    I'm pointing out that WSJ's title is clickbait.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
christophilus 2y ago
This sort of approach has the effect of getting rid of your best employees, not your worst. Those who can go find other work will take the offer and go. Those who can't will stay.

22 points by m348e912 2y ago

Federal workers have until February 6th to decide to either return to office or take a payout that includes pay and benefits through September 30th. https://archive.is/J2PjY https://archive.is/J2PjY

TrackerFF 2y ago

If Elmo is involved in this, you might want to get those 8 months of pay upfront.

amazingamazing 2y ago
I always wonder why people create these ridiculous nicknames. Are there maybe more children on this site than I thought?
- seanmcdirmid 2y ago
  I think the change in standards of presidential discourse have affected how we talk to each other; e.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Dona....
  - amazingamazing 2y ago
    Trump is hardly an example to follow, but you’re probably right.
    - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
      Ya, but Trump is also the kind of person who doesn’t like to be called names but likes calling people names. A lot of people are going to feel compelled to lean into that. It is going to be a long 4 years.
- jprd 2y ago
  Wait. You think the problem is "children" on the VC cult website? You see no issues with the CEO of five companies who bought his way into U.S. politics and being a complete clown show of K-hole takes that go against everything the Constitution was written to hold as sacred being criticized for his BS? Cool. Nicknames help us deal with the reality of an Apartheid cult gaining influence on our government.
- TomK32 2y ago
  Act like a reasonable adult and people will be nice to you and call your by your given (or chosen) name.
- rsynnott 2y ago
  I think it's partly down to Twitter. On Twitter there are or were certain names (and Elon Musk was one of the worst) which it was unwise to say, because those people have hordes of weird obsessive fans who search for the name of their beloved, and pop in to sealion. Thus, nicknames. Not really a factor here, of course.
lawn 2y ago
Trump has a long history of not paying people too. He even balks at paying for the location of his rallies. Suffice to say, not a very trustworthy pair.

Terr_ 2y ago

Is that kind of financial-decision something the President can reliably promise under current law, as opposed to needing Congressional involvement? Does it apply to people dismissed because the President demanded to know how they voted and didn't like the answer?

grajaganDev 2y ago
>President can reliably promise under current law, as opposed to needing Congressional involvement? I don't think so and your question was not addressed in the article. Seems like very biased and irresponsible reporting. >Does it apply to people dismissed because the President demanded to know how they voted and didn't like the answer? Good point - I would expect they get nothing.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Terr_ 2y ago
  > I would expect they get nothing. A Not-Actually-Fun-Fact I learned today: Even the Nazis doing their early purge of the German government [0] still found it necessary to offer 3 months of severance and 3/4ths continued pension. [0] The 1933 legislation was against "officials whose previous political activities do not guarantee that they will always be fully committed to the national state."
m348e912 2y ago
The president is the head of the executive branch so technically he can make the decision to implement a new work policy. That doesn't mean it won't be challenged and that the courts won't have an opportunity to overturn it. Procedurally it reminds me when the Biden administration issued a mandate for federal workers and federal contractors to be vaccinated for Covid 19. That mandate was ultimately blocked and overturned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-federal-workers-appeals-court/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-mandate-federal-w...

grajaganDev 2y ago

Does a budget for the payouts exist? If not, this is a misleading headline.

m348e912 2y ago
The federal fiscal year ends Sept 31, so it's possible that funding will remain in place until that time. We will see!
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

stevenwoo 2y ago

The federal government is not allowed to pay more than 25000 unless Trump is proposing legislation to change this that is not mentioned. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/voluntary-separation-incentive-payments/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restruct...

m348e912 2y ago
I think severed employees are expected to continue to work from home through Sept 31. This doesn't appear to be a complete one-time payout.
- jprd 2y ago
  Pretty sure our government isn't advanced enough to make Severance real. I am also confident that the current Administration would fumble if given the chance.
  - m348e912 2y ago
    It's actually more of a deferred resignation. I think even the US gov't can handle that.

grajaganDev 2y ago

The Reddit thread has supposed screen shots of the email: https://old.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1icfqi5/voluntary_resignations_requested/ https://old.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1icfqi5/voluntary_...

m348e912 2y ago
It has the same vibe as the email Elon sent to twitter employees soon after the buyout. https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/musk-to-begin-layoffs-of-twitter-employees-starting-this-week/ https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/musk-to-begin-layoffs-of...

roncesvalles 2y ago

Title is clickbait. It's a buyout for workers that refuse to RTO. The official statement verbatim: "After four years of incompetence and failure, President Donald Trump is committed to making our government efficient and productive again. American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers. If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of eight months."

m348e912 2y ago
The title is straight from the WSJ, HN doesn't allow you to editorialize titles.
- awnird 2y ago
  dang will editorialize any titles that don't fit YC's agenda. Some titles are even automatically edited upon submission.
  - m348e912 2y ago
    That's up to dang. I'm just doing what I'm told :)
- roncesvalles 2y ago
  I'm pointing out that WSJ's title is clickbait.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

christophilus 2y ago

This sort of approach has the effect of getting rid of your best employees, not your worst. Those who can go find other work will take the offer and go. Those who can't will stay.