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With a judge’s assent, the Trump administration moved to take next steps in the program and close it to new entrants.
Protesters against the Trump administration’s deferred resignation plan for federal workers, known as “Fork in the Road,” outside the Office of Personnel Management in Washington this month. Credit… Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times Published Feb. 12, 2025 Updated Feb. 13, 2025, 2:55 a.m. ET The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to close entries for the deferred resignation program for federal workers and continue to next steps, after a federal judge’s assent.
The court victory allowed the White House to advance a crucial part of its plan to reduce the federal work force through mass payment offers.
In a ruling denying a request to halt the plan, Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Massachusetts, did not weigh in on the program’s legality. The judge wrote that the plaintiffs, which included unions representing federal workers, were not directly affected by the incentive plan, known as “Fork in the Road,” and lacked standing to challenge it.
“The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork directive,” Judge O’Toole wrote, adding that they were “challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees.”
“This is not sufficient” for standing, he wrote in his five-page decision.
The unions challenging the plan had sought a temporary restraining order to block the plan from proceeding. In his ruling, Judge O’Toole added that precedent from previous cases showed that the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to consider the unions’ claims.
The decision was a win for the Trump administration, which has been stymied by a series of other court rulings in recent days that have slowed efforts to freeze federal spending and put significant numbers of employees on leave.
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