Attorney General Phil Weiser stands with federal workers in “Fork in the Road” buyout lawsuit

Feb. 9, 2025 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general to stand with federal employees in Colorado and across the nation 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 questionable “buyout” and potentially being terminated.

The coalition today filed an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order filed 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 “Fork in the Road” directive, issued on January 28, 2025. It gave most federal employees 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 unions filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, emphasizing that the directive and associated fact sheet—which was revised multiple times—caused widespread confusion and dismay among federal employees, who were faced with an arbitrary deadline based on a directive that the unions assert is illegal and contrary to federal ethics regulations. On February 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., delayed the purported deadline of the “Fork directive” until Monday, February 10, 2025, with a hearing to be held at 2:00 p.m. that day in Boston.

“Approximately 40,000 federal employees live and work in Colorado and they deliver important benefits and services to the American people. These workers have families, mortgages and other bills to pay. The Federal Center in Lakewood is the largest concentration of federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C. and is critical to our local economy,” said Weiser. “A change in the federal workforce must be planned according to the law and with public input. By joining this court brief, we’re sending the message that we stand with federal workers who are committed to public service.”

As Attorney General Weiser emphasized in the coalition’s 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 Weiser on the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

Amicus brief in AFGE v. Ezell (PDF download)

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