Trump's Trials - 'You can't interpret silence to be a resignation:' email stokes confusion

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

Federal employees were told they have until the end of Monday to detail what they accomplished last week or face firing. Some bosses said to hold on before replying to the email, stoking confusion. NPR's Emma Bowman reports. Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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or presidential aide Elon Musk says they could lose their jobs. The demands went out by email Saturday, and Musk posted on X that failing to respond would be considered a resignation. But some agencies stepped in and told workers to hold off before replying, which has only created confusion. Here's NPR's Emma Bowman. Workers were asked to provide five bullet points that outlined their accomplishments the previous week and to cc their managers. The Saturday notice was sent by the Office of Personnel Management and asked that no classified information be shared. Workers were given a deadline of the end of today to respond. But some questioned the legality of the request.

Suzanne Summerlin, a federal sector labor attorney in Washington, DC, says that office has no authority to manage employees of federal agencies other than its own. OPM seems to be running an in-drought around that chain of command and directly dealing with employees. This is a violation of collective bargaining laws, unfair labor practice laws. She says that failing to respond to the email likely wouldn't be grounds for firing and certainly not a resignation. You can't interpret silence to be a resignation. Resignations in the federal service must be made voluntarily by the employee and the employee has until the date of their resignation to rescind it.

In a statement Sunday, OPM said that the emails are part of the Trump administration's commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce and that agencies will determine any next steps. Many agencies have since provided guidance to their staff. Some supervisors told workers to wait to answer the email until they hear more. Others said the OPM email is a valid request. These kinds of mixed messages have added to workers' frustration. Summerlin says that for employees who haven't heard from their supervisors, she would advise that they ask their bosses directly to find out if they need to answer the email.

Emma Bowman, NPR News. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters, who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org.

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