Two federal government offices in Greater Williamsport say they are not expected to be impacted by President Donald J. Trump’s eight-month deferred resignation order, otherwise being called “federal buyouts.”

Trump’s administration is offering buyouts to federal employees to quickly reduce the government workforce, with a deadline of Thursday, Feb. 6, to decide.

The buyouts are for all full-time federal employees except for military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service and those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security.

In Harrisburg, Peter Welsh, clerk of courts with the United States Middle District Court, which has a branch in

Williamsport, said, when asked Thursday: “Not yet,” of any impact from the administrative order.

He noted the Office of U.S. Courts issued an advisory that it is not applicable to the U.S. Courts, Welsh said.

“We are sitting tight and awaiting further guidance from the administrative office,” he said.

Also, members of the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prisons Locals Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood, White Deer, representing correctional officers, said they also are not eligible for the deferred resignation.

Deferred resignation (buyouts) are available to all federal full-time employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, the U.S. Postal Service, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and any other positions specifically excluded by the employing agency.

A member of the corrections officers’ union at Allenwood FCC told the Sun-Gazette he believes based on guidance regarding deferred resignation that this primarily affects tele-workers.

It has been called a federal buyout but the worker retains his or her benefits up until the eight months or the Sept. 30 end point.

The union representative said he and others would be heading to Washington, D.C. next week to speak to Senators on issues regarding correctional officers and would be providing updates in about a week.

The official memorandum from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that went to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies was written by Charles Ezell, Acting Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It was dated Jan. 28.

The letter outlines the guidance to agencies regarding the government-wide deferred resignation program. This program, it said, provides employees with an option to submit a deferred resignation letter with resignation effective on Sept. 30.

Deferred resignation exempts those employees who choose it from return-to-office requirements.

Employees who accept this resignation are expected to have their duties re-assigned or eliminated and be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period, unless the employee has elected another early resignation date, unless the agency head determines that it is necessary for the employee to be actively engaged in transitioning job duties, in which case employees should be placed on administrative leave as soon as those duties are transitioned.

The Associated Press reported if workers decide to stay they will be expected to return to their offices full-time, in keeping with the president’s push to end COVID-19 pandemic-era remote work.

Trump, the memo states, “will insist on excellence at every level.”

It also noted that the majority of federal agencies “are likely to be downsized,” and that “employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward.”

Workers who decided to take the offer can apply for other government work in the future.

As of November, the federal government employed more than 3 million people, accounting for nearly 1.9 % of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.

The civilian workforce is about 2.4 million, excluding U.S. Postal Service employees and active-duty military.

The average tenure for a federal employee is nearly 12 years, according to the aforementioned data.

The largest segment of federal workers, nearly 20 %, are in the District of Columbia and neighboring Maryland and Virginia. California, the nation’s largest state by population, has the highest number, about 147,500, according to the AP report.

The proposal was criticized by the head of the American Federation of Government Employees Union, Everett Kelley, who said the buyouts were more of an effort to pressure workers who were not considered loyal to the new administration to leave their jobs.

“Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government,” Kelley said in a statement.

“Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”