Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, emailed federal employees over the weekend to warn them to account for the work they did this past week or lose their jobs.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X.
“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
According to emails confirmed by NPR, the Office of Personnel Management asked employees to provide a list of roughly five bulleted accomplishments to the agency and cc’d their manager. Employees will have until Monday, Feb. 24, 11:59 p.m. ET, to provide their list.
OPM told the outlet that the emails are part of the Trump administration’s commitment to an “efficient and accountable workforce.” It remains unclear what will happen next and if this will be a weekly requirement for federal employees. The legality of OPM’s request is also unclear, as many federal employees are protected by civil service protections that prevent them from being fired without cause.
Federal Employees Are Fighting Back Against Musk and DOGE
Since Trump took office, DOGE has orchestrated the mass firing of at least 20,000 government workers, a majority being probationary employees. Labor unions have since responded by suing the Trump administration. The unions argue that OPM has no authority to manage employees or federal agencies other than its own. The lawsuit points to the federal statute that states, “The head of an Executive department or military department may prescribe regulations for the government of his department, the conduct of its employees, the distribution and performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of its records, papers, and property.”
Legal experts tell NPR that it is likely that Musk’s request will not stand up in court.
“Firing someone who was unable or unwilling to respond would be found to be a disproportionate punishment by a labor arbitrator,” labor attorney Suzanne Summerlin said.
However, choosing not to respond could result in disciplinary action.
“A letter of reprimand or a suspension would likely be found by an arbitrator to be proportionate,” she added.
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