Administrative Leave for Workforce Realignment and Other Purposes

DEEPER READ

This final rule from the Office of Personnel Management amends existing regulations to more clearly define appropriate uses of administrative leave, which is paid leave granted to federal employees without charge to their personal leave balances. Specifically, the rule addresses scenarios arising from large-scale workforce restructuring efforts, including programs where employees are offered the option to resign while continuing to receive pay for a period, sometimes called deferred resignation or 'fork in the road' programs. The rule directly addresses two key procedural questions. First, it clarifies when an agency may place an employee on administrative leave during the notice period required before a reduction in force, which is a formal process for laying off federal workers. Second, it establishes guidelines for when agencies may accept or deny an employee's request to withdraw a resignation submitted under a deferred resignation program, giving agencies clearer authority to hold employees to their resignations in certain circumstances. The legal basis for this rule flows from OPM's statutory authority to regulate the federal civilian workforce under Title 5 of the United States Code, which grants OPM broad authority over personnel management policies across the executive branch. The rule operates within the framework of existing civil service protections, though critics have raised questions about whether some workforce reduction programs that rely on administrative leave adequately honor those protections. The employees most directly affected are federal civilian workers across executive branch agencies, particularly those who participated in or were offered deferred resignation programs that were rolled out in early 2025. Agencies themselves are also affected, as they now have clearer regulatory guidance on managing employees during workforce realignment. The rule does not apply to military personnel or most employees of agencies outside the executive branch. The rule takes effect as a final rule, meaning the public comment period has closed and OPM has incorporated responses into this version. Implementation is immediate upon the rule's effective date as published in the Federal Register, and agencies are expected to apply these standards to ongoing and future workforce realignment activities.

AS PUBLISHED

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations governing administrative leave for workforce realignment and other purposes. This final rule more fully addresses the appropriate uses of administrative leave, including use in connection with deferred resignation programs and other workforce realignment initiatives, and for other purposes. The final rule also clarifies when an agency may provide administrative leave during a reduction-in-force notice period and accept or deny an employee's request to withdraw a resignation in the context of a deferred resignation program.

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