A federal judge declined to further pause a federal government buyout program, enabling the government to forge ahead with its “Fork in the Road” program.
U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole had extended the time frame for federal employees to decide whether to take the unusual offer, which gives employees eight months of pay and benefits if they wish to depart government.
In a Wednesday ruling, O’Toole found that the unions who had sued over the directive did not have standing to do so.
“The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees. This is not sufficient,” O’Toole wrote.
The decision allows the Trump administration to close a window to accept the deal that the government originally planned to end on Feb. 6. That deadline was extended while O’Toole weighed a bid by unions to temporarily block the Office of Personnel Management from carrying out the program entirely.
The White House previously said at least 40,000 federal employees had taken the deal, roughly 2 percent of the 2 million federal workers.
While O’Toole’s ruling spells trouble for the broader challenge from unions to the buyout program, he did not otherwise delve deeply into the legal arguments presented by them in determining they did not have standing.
Unions have cautioned employees against taking the offer.
Numerous provisions in the accompanying contract contradict promises made by OPM, leaving unclear whether employees will not have to report to work and will be free to seek outside employment as the agency has claimed.
The offer also comes with legal and logistical challenges.
The government is currently only funded through March, raising concerns over whether funding needed to back commitments to employees will materialize. That dynamic could violate the Antideficiency Act, which bars the government from spending beyond what is dictated in its budget and requires it to use federal funding as intended.
OPM and the American Federation of Government Employees, one of the unions suing over the deal, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
