- The Office of Personnel Management asked federal workers to email a list of their accomplishments over the past week.
- A number of federal agencies told their employees that they were not required to respond.
- Some agencies said a response is voluntary, while others said they would respond on employees’ behalf.
Some federal agencies’ response to Elon Musk’s worker productivity email: thanks, but no thanks.
A growing number of agencies are telling their workers that they are not required to respond to the email sent from the Office of Personnel Management over the weekend asking for a list of accomplishments from the past week.
According to emails reviewed by Business Insider, some of the agencies told employees that they would respond to OPM on their behalf. Others said a response is voluntary, and failure to respond will not result in any penalties.
In a post on X on Saturday, Musk said that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” but the initial email didn’t make the same claim. This comes after a tumultuous past few weeks for federal workers; a number of agencies terminated thousands of employees last week following directions from President Donald Trump and Musk’s DOGE to slash government waste.
These are the federal agencies BI has verified that have so far told their workers that they do not need to respond to OPM’s email ahead of the 11:59 p.m. Eastern time deadline on Monday night.
Department of Defense
The Department of Defense posted on X on Sunday that its employees should “pause any response” to the OPM’s email.
“The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures,” the statement said.
Social Security Administration
On Sunday, the Social Security Administration sent an email to its employees telling them that the OPM email is “a legitimate assignment” and those who received it were required to respond.
However, the agency followed up on Monday afternoon telling employees that any response is “voluntary.”
“Non-responses are not considered a resignation,” the email said.
NASA
NASA emailed its employees on Monday afternoon saying, “You are not required to respond, and there is no impact on your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond.”
The agency said it would respond on employees’ behalf and that “employees should continue to feel empowered to report their activities and accomplishments” to their supervisors.
Department of Justice
Jolene Ann Lauria, acting assistant attorney general for administration at the DOJ, emailed employees on Monday: “Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Department’s work, DOJ employees do not need to respond to the email from OPM.”
Bloomberg Law reported that this was a reversal of Lauria’s earlier guidance that instructed employees to respond to the email.
Department of Agriculture
The USDA told employees on Monday afternoon that responding to the email is “voluntary,” and that “there is no penalty for not responding to the request.”
The USDA guidance said that those who do choose to respond should refrain from submitting any sensitive or confidential information.
State Department
The State Department told employees that it would respond on behalf of the agency.
“No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” the department said.
Department of Energy
The Department of Energy emailed its employees on Sunday night, instructing them to “pause” any responses to the OPM email.
“The Department of Energy is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures,” the department said. “When and if required, the Department will provide a coordinated response to the OPM email.”
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