Jacqueline Clay, a chief human capital officer at the Education Department, wrote in an email Friday that employees can take advantage of the “offer” if they quit by 11:59 p.m. Monday.
“This is a one-time offer in advance of a very significant Reduction in Force for the US Department of Education,” Clay wrote.
The offer can be stacked with retirement benefits. Clay said the employees who accept the buyout will receive the equivalence of severance pay, or $25,000, whichever is less. It will take effect March 31.
Most department employees are eligible, save for those who are using disability retirement, received a student loan repayment benefit in the last 36 months, or have been awarded a retention bonus in the last year.
The email also reportedly disappeared immediately after being sent, before being sent again later in the afternoon, according to NBC 4 News Washington. The Washington Examiner reached out to the Education Department about this but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
The Trump administration is also attempting to dismantle the Department of Education entirely, a longtime goal of many Republicans. While the president can reduce the size and scope of certain aspects, he cannot abolish it altogether without congressional approval.
The buyout offer comes after the Office of Personnel Management issued a memorandum earlier this week advising agency heads to have their reorganization plans developed by March 13.
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The Social Security Administration gave its employees a similar offer Thursday as the agency said they were preparing for “significant workforce reductions.”
The agency said they were offering a voluntary separation incentive payment, which they said was a “limited” option that will be available until March 14 on a “first-come basis.” It would offer payments depending on the pay scale classification of an employee, with General Schedule 8 or lower getting $15,000, GS 9-12 employees getting $20,000, and GS 13 or higher employees getting $25,000.
