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Second Deferred-Resignation Opportunity for SBA Employees Amid Major Agency Reorganization

In an announcement made early Saturday, employees of the Small Business Administration (SBA) received an email from the Chief Human Capital Office presenting them with a renewed opportunity to accept a deferred-resignation package. This offer is a follow-up to the earlier initiative from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), originally available to federal employees from January 28 to February 12.

This renewed offer comes on the heels of significant reorganization plans within the SBA, which aims to reduce its workforce by 2,700 employees—approximately 43% of its total staff of 6,500. This reduction is anticipated to save the agency around $435 million.

The email, which was reviewed by Government Executive, specifies that the deferred-resignation option will be available to all full-time and part-time SBA employees from March 31 to April 7. The communication emphasizes the agency’s commitment to supporting its remaining workforce: “If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce,” it reads. However, the email also indicates uncertainty regarding job security: “At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position.”

This program is reportedly aligned with the terms of the initial “Fork in the Road” offer initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. Nevertheless, the SBA retains the authority to deny acceptance for offers as part of its strategy to maintain operations during the transition.

Employees opting to take the deferred-resignation offer will continue to receive their pay and benefits without regard to their daily responsibilities, and will be exempt from in-person work obligations until September 30, 2025, or sooner if they opt to resign earlier.

In a related move, the General Services Administration and the Defense Department also extended deferred-resignation proposals to their staff, albeit with different timelines. An administration official clarified that these recent offers are not part of a broader government initiative but stem from decisions made at the individual agency level.

However, not all agencies plan to offer a renewed deferred resignation option. An official from another agency indicated that OPM has been motivating agencies to pursue early retirements and buyouts and to offer administrative leave at their discretion. This approach aims to prevent employees facing potential reductions in force (RIFs) from being on administrative leave when layoffs are initiated.

The deferred-resignation program has faced legal challenges previously, highlighting the contentious nature of such workforce reduction tactics.

Notably, multiple emails sent to SBA employees leading up to the latest deferred-resignation offer indicated that staff were unable to send emails to non-SBA addresses from March 21 to March 24. The cause of this issue remains unclear, although it was acknowledged in messages from a senior SBA official.

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