Some IRS employees who accepted the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” offer are now being told they must stay on the job through May 15, because the agency has deemed their work “essential” to this year’s tax filing season.

OPM has given all federal employees until the end of the day on Feb. 6 to accept its offer.

OPM told most federal employees that if they accept this offer, they would be put on paid administrative leave no later than the end of fiscal 2025.

In follow-up messages, OPM has told employees that if they accept the offer, they would be able to find another job or go on vacation — and still receive up to eight months of pay from their previous federal position.

“I want the deal that OPM offered,” an IRS processing center employee told Federal News Network. “If I can’t have that deal, I guess it’ll be four months [paid leave]. But my question now is, come May 15, is that even a viable option?”

The employee, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, said she already emailed OPM to accept its offer to be put on paid administrative leave. But she was told by her district manager on Tuesday that she would have to continue working for the coming months.

More broadly, federal employees say they’re increasingly skeptical of OPM’s offer as new details have emerged.

OPM shared a contract template with agency heads Tuesday, which states federal employees who accept the deal agree to stay on the job through Feb. 28, and would be put on paid administrative leave starting March 1.

OPM, however, told federal employees on its frequently asked questions page that they would not have to work during the deferred resignation period.

“Am I expected to work at my government job during the deferred resignation period?” is the first question on the FAQ page. OPM said the answer is “no.”

The contract template also states OPM’s deferred resignation offer cannot be rescinded, “except in the sole discretion of the [AGENCY HEAD].” The template also states federal employees who accept the deal waive their right to appeal the resignation with the Merit Systems Protection Board “or any other forum.”

OPM’s FAQ page also states its offer is available to all full-time federal employees “except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, those in positions related to public safety, and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.”

Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, called this latest development a “clear case of bait-and-switch,” since federal employees were originally told they would be put on paid administrative leave through Sept. 30.

“It proves that the terms of OPM’s so-called offer are unreliable and cannot be trusted,” Greenwald said.

“We do welcome the admission, however, that IRS employees are vital to the agency mission,” she added. “By requiring IRS employees to stay on the job longer than promised, the administration is proving what NTEU has been saying all along: IRS employees are essential and without them, the jobs that the American people depend upon will not get done. In the case of the IRS, it’s answering taxpayer questions during filing season, processing tax returns and issuing refunds. But this holds true for frontline federal employees across government who safeguard the public health, promote economic growth and secure the nation. If their jobs are arbitrarily eliminated, those services are in jeopardy.”

Top Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, in a letter to OPM’s acting leadership, called its offer “legally dubious” and “intentionally misleading.”

“There is at best, questionable legal authority for the Administration to offer this type of program to federal workers, and it is not contemplated in appropriations law,” the lawmakers wrote. “It should be rescinded immediately.”

OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover told Federal News Network in a statement Tuesday that union leaders and politicians telling federal workers to reject this offer “are doing them a serious disservice.”

“This is a rare, generous opportunity — one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring. Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families,” Pinover said.

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