A federal judge pushed back the deadline for President Donald Trump's buyout offer for federal workers on Thursday.
Trump's administration initially told federal workers they needed to decide whether to accept the buyout offer by Thursday. The new ruling delays the deadline to at least Monday, with another hearing on the issue scheduled for that day.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. did not express an opinion on the legality of Trump's buyback program.
Several labor unions have sued over Trump's plans, which were orchestrated by Elon Musk, a top adviser. The Republican president is trying to downsize and reshape the federal workforce.
Under the buyout offer, employees were to stop working this week and receive pay benefits through Sept. 30. Exempt from the offer are public safety employees, like air traffic controllers.
During Trump’s first week in office, he issued several directives to the federal workforce, including a requirement that remote employees must return to in-person work.
With a deadline quickly approaching, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two other unions filed a complaint, claiming the buyout offer is 'arbitrary and capricious' and 'violates federal law.'
The unions allege the administration cannot guarantee the plan will be funded and has failed to consider the consequences of mass resignations, including how it may affect the government’s ability to function.
On Tuesday, AFGE filed a lawsuit calling for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the Trump administration’s 'Fork Directive' deadline of Feb. 6 and require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, not arbitrary and unlawful.
The buyouts do not apply to military personnel of the armed forces, postal service employees, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and any other positions specifically excluded by the agency the federal workers are employed by.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.