Trump’s EPA Makes Second ‘Fork in the Road’ Exit Offer to Staff

The EPA on Monday said it’s reopening its deferred resignation program, colloquially known as the “fork in the road,” and voluntary early retirement offer known as “early out” for employees to leave the agency.

The offers do not apply to the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement staff or those working on national security or public safety, including inspectors and regional criminal enforcement counsels, according to an internal email reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

Employees in the Office of the Inspector General, Office of Mission Support, and Office of the Chief Financial Officer are also excluded, as are Public Health Service officers, experts, consultants, and special government employees.

The letter did not explain why those staffers are exempted.

The offers do, however, apply to employees on remote work agreements who haven’t been placed at an agency-assigned work site, as well as probationary employees currently on administrative leave.

The effort is part of President Donald Trump’s push to drastically reduce the size of the federal government, which tasked agencies with culling staff and implementing reorganization plans. The EPA hasn’t revealed its downsizing plans, but it recently said in an internal memo that it will start reduction in force among its remaining environmental justice staff on July 31.

The basic terms of the EPA’s Monday offer are the same as the first time: employees will retain all pay and benefits and don’t have to report to the office in person until they resign or retire. Those who choose to resign will be separated from the agency by Sept. 30, according to the email.

The EPA previously said it’s contemplating cutting 50% to 75% of the 1,540 staff at the Office of Research and Development, according to documents reviewed by House Democrats.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently told reporters the agency is still working on its reorganization plans, and didn’t indicate a timeline.

The EPA’s enforcement office has been chronically understaffed for years, even after a surge under former President Joe Biden of 400 to 500 new staffers, David Uhlmann, who led the enforcement office under Biden, told Bloomberg Law in January.

For example, while the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance’s criminal enforcement program has 180 special agents nationwide, that’s still a low number considering the team is responsible for all criminal violations in all 50 states, Uhlmann said.