The employees received the unsigned email with a deadline of March 15 to respond to an offer of a “voluntary separation incentive payment,” the publication said.
Agencies looking to restructure or downsize can offer employees a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment Authority, also known as a buyout authority, which is up to $25,000 in lump-sum payments as an incentive to exit voluntarily, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website.
The incentive comes amid ongoing HHS employee cuts across agencies like the FDA, CDC and National Institutes of Health. On Feb. 13, the Trump administration directed that nearly all of the 5,200 HHS probationary employees be cut, employees who have often worked for the federal government for around one to two years prior to gaining civil service protections. However, in late February, around 300 FDA jobs and at least one federal healthcare program’s funding were restored.
HHS also moved on March 3 to revoke the Richardson waiver, established in 1971, that requires the agency to follow public notice and comment procedures pertaining to public loans, property, grants, contracts and benefits.
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