The decision has raised concerns about its potential impact on Veteran Affairs (VA) benefit payments to US veterans.
The deferred resignation program and VA’s exemptions
The Office of Personnel Management created something called the Deferred Resignation Program that allowed federal employees to resign but stay on the payroll with benefits until September 30, 2025. However, the VA’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer issued guidance that excluded more than 140 occupations from this new program. Occupations covered would include primary care physicians, nurses, psychologists, addiction-related peer support apprentices and other medical specialists, and also key technical personnel such as engineers.
The American Federation of Government Employees estimates the exemption will sweep in more than 200,000 VA employees.
A VA Spokesperson said, “VA worked closely with the White House and the Office of Personnel Management to identify more than 130 occupations within the department that will not be eligible for the Deferred Resignation.”
Confusion and administrative headaches
The exemptions have created confusion within the agency about who is exempt. Staff were told that even after being selected for deferred resignations, they were expected to continue coming to work until their supervisors could verify their status on leave. Thomas Dargon, deputy general counsel, had this to say:
“We’ve wasted millions of dollars in taxpayer resources over the last two weeks in emergency town halls and reading, trying to decipher FAQs and memos for a program that it sounds like broad swaths of the federal government are not going to be eligible for, and so the uncertainty, hysteria that’s come from this, I would say, is the opposite of government efficiency. Pulling people away from the jobs at the VA, taking care of veterans, doing the work they were hired to do.”
Pre-existing staffing shortages at the VA
The VA has faced staffing shortages for years. In fiscal year 2024, VA health facilities reported 2,959 severe occupations. Notably, the agency has struggled with a severe shortage of nurses for over a decade and consistently lacks enough psychologists, with 61% of facilities reporting a shortage last.
Possible impact on payments of veterans’ benefits
Excluding such a large percentage of the VA workforce from the buyout program may have implications for the processing of veterans’ benefits. While there may be an intent to retain key personnel, current staffing shortages are likely to worsen if the program increases workload or morale issues in remaining employees. This may impact timely processing and payment of benefits and quality of care for veterans.
Deadline extensions
The Trump administration initially set a deadline for Thursday at midnight for federal workers to opt into the deferred resignation offer. However, a judge this week paused that deadline while a legal challenge worked its way through the court.
The new deadline for workers to accept the offer is Monday at 11:59 pm.
