Federal Judge Blocks Trump-Musk Employee Buyout Plan Hours Before Deadline

BOSTON, Mass. — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily halted the Trump administration and Elon Musk‘s controversial “Fork in the Road” federal employee buyout plan, just hours before the midnight deadline for workers to accept the offer. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. issued the injunction, pausing the program until at least Monday, when a hearing will determine its legality.

The buyout plan, part of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, offered federal employees a “deferred resignation” option, allowing them to resign but continue receiving pay and benefits through September 2025. However, three major federal unions sued, arguing the plan was unlawful and lacked a clear legal basis.

Judge O’Toole’s ruling came as more than 40,000 federal workers—roughly 2% of the civilian workforce—had already accepted the offer. “I enjoined the defendants from taking any action to implement the so-called directive pending the completion of briefing and oral argument on the issues,” O’Toole said during a brief hearing.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Association of Government Employees, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, alleges the plan violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The unions argue the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) failed to provide a legal justification for the offer and left open the possibility that the government might not honor its financial commitments.

“To leverage employees into accepting the offer and resigning, the Fork Directive threatens employees with eventual job loss in the event that they refuse to resign,” the lawsuit states. It also claims the plan is unfair, as it was accompanied by threats of future layoffs and lacks proper funding, with current appropriations expiring in March.

The buyout program, modeled after Musk’s management style at Twitter, has drawn sharp criticism for its rapid implementation and potential to destabilize federal agencies. “OPM’s rapid adoption of Musk’s private-sector program confirms that the agency took very little time to consider the suitability of applying an approach used with questionable success in a single for-profit entity to the entirety of the federal workforce,” the lawsuit alleges.

Lawyers for the Department of Justice said they would notify all affected employees of the injunction. The case has sparked widespread concern among federal workers, with many fearing the long-term impact on government operations and expertise.

The hearing on Monday will determine whether the injunction will be extended and whether the buyout plan can proceed. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency face mounting legal and logistical challenges as they seek to reshape the federal workforce.