Proposed Amicus Brief

TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, standing with the nation’s federal employees in a challenge to the Trump administration’s federal “buyout” plan.  The so-called “Fork in the Road” directive is an attempt to force federal workers to choose, with only days to decide, between accepting a legally fraught “buyout” and potentially being terminated.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s ‘buyout’ scam is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate public servants out of their jobs,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Pushing hard-working federal employees out of the workforce doesn’t only harm the employees themselves, but also the State of New Jersey and our residents who will be deprived of key partners in the federal government and access to critical services. I am proud to file an amicus brief in support of the unions who are working to stop this illegal action.”

The coalition today filed an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order moved to file by the plaintiffs—the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); AFGE Local 3707; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the National Association of Government Employees—against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) “Fork in the Road” directive, issued on January 28, 2025.  It gave most federal employees little more than a week (until February 6) to accept “deferred resignation,” which purportedly would allow federal workers to resign and retain pay and benefits without showing up to work until September 30, 2025, with an implicit threat that their positions may otherwise be eliminated anyway.

The plaintiff unions filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, emphasizing that the directive and associated FAQs—which were revised multiple times—caused widespread confusion and dismay among federal employees, who were faced with an arbitrary deadline based on a directive that the plaintiff unions assert is illegal and contrary to federal ethics regulations. On February 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., stayed the purported deadline of the “Fork directive” until Monday, February 10, 2025, with a hearing to be held at 2 p.m. that day in Boston.

As Attorney General Platkin emphasized in the coalition’s proposed amicus brief, the indiscriminate loss of indispensable federal employees could have a devastating effect on cooperative aspects of federal, state, and local government—from those who care for veterans to those who arrive when natural disaster strikes. The brief also describes the coercive nature of the directive to our Nation’s public servants. The coalition urged the court to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent this harm to federal workers—our friends and neighbors—and to protect the public interest.

Joining Attorney General Platkin on the proposed amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

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