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Federal Workers Required to Submit Weekly Accomplishments

On Friday night, federal employees received emails mandating them to compile and submit a list of their weekly achievements. According to The New York Times, this new directive specifies that employees must provide their lists every Monday by 11:59 PM ET.

The Times reports that those engaged exclusively in classified or sensitive tasks were instructed to reply with the phrase “all of my activities are sensitive.” This email, distributed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), reached several federal agencies, including the FBI, the General Services Administration, and the Departments of Defense, Justice, Labor, and Agriculture. In some instances, the email originated from an internal department email address, as noted by The Associated Press.

While the Times highlights that the repercussions for failing to respond to these emails remain undefined, it notes that after a related email was disseminated last week, Elon Musk stated on X that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” Legal experts have expressed concerns that such a consequence, which was not included in the initial communication, could possibly be illegal.

In a separate development, a federal judge recently ruled that the OPM does not have the authority to terminate employees from other agencies. The judge has instructed the OPM to withdraw directives that led to mass firings of probationary employees, many of whom held significant positions. Additionally, Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) publicly requested that Musk and the OPM cease sending emails to legislative branch employees, asserting that these communications waste resources and may mislead employees into sharing sensitive legislative information improperly. This appeal can be viewed in a letter issued on the same day as the ruling.

The response to the original emails has been inconsistent among federal agencies, with some advising employees not to reply while others encouraged responses. Musk has suggested, without evidence, that the initial emails were part of an effort to identify fraudulent employees, further perpetuating the claim in a cabinet meeting where he remarked on the potential presence of deceased individuals on government payrolls, according to the Times.

Source
www.theverge.com