'Fork in the Road:" Frequently Asked Questions

On January 30, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email with a section for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the deferred resignation plan, also known as the "Fork in the Road" offer. OPM posted the same information online. On January 28, 2025, OPM had issued a memorandum on the topic of deferred resignation with a similar FAQ, but the January 30th FAQ had slightly different content, including a statement that federal employees were encouraged "to find a job in the private sector as soon as [they] would like to do so," if the employee accepted the deferred resignation offer. The guidance further provided: "The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector."