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- Federal job offers accepted before January 20 with start dates after February 8 ‘are revoked,’ a government memo says.
- The Office of Personnel Management said agency heads can still seek “written approval” to renew a job offer.
- Agencies must also report monthly on job offers, new hires, departures, and head count, the memo said.
Newly hired federal workers expecting to start their new jobs next month could soon see their offers yanked by the federal government.
A memo providing further guidance on Trump’s executive order mandating federal hiring freezes instructed federal agencies that “offers made and accepted prior to January 20” with an unconfirmed start date or later than February 8 “are revoked.”
The memo, written by the US Office of Management and Budget and US Office of Personnel Management and sent to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies on January 8, states that if individuals were hired before noon on January 20 and have a start date earlier than February 8, their offers can remain in place.
“Those individuals should report to work according to their respective designated start date,” the memo said.
Even if a job offer is rescinded, it might not be a done deal for the candidate. The memo said that the head of an agency can seek “written approval” from the OPM to renew the employee’s offer after considering “essential mission priorities, current agency resources, and funding levels.”
The memo also calls for reports from agencies included in the hiring freeze on the last day of each month. The reports call for information about candidates who were extended or accepted offers, new employees who started that month, and employees who departed that month. The report also calls for the total staff head count and any positions listed online, the memo said.
In a separate memo sent the same day, Charles Ezell, the acting director of the OPM, asked leaders of all federal agencies to evaluate their workforces and consider firing employees who have been there less than two years.
The memo requested that agencies identify all employees on probationary periods and “promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency,” by January 24.
Trump’s federal hiring freeze went into effect on his inauguration day, preventing any vacant positions that existed before 11:59 a.m. on January 20 from being filled, and restricting the creation of new positions. There are some exceptions to the freeze, including roles tied to “immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety” and positions requiring “Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation.”
The OPM move is in line with broader Trump administration efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
The Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led commission, is also working to recommend ways that the Trump administration could cut the size of the federal workforce, reduce regulations and federal budgets, and improve efficiency.
OPM declined to comment. The Trump administration and OMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
