President Musk, following encouragement from President Trump, sent an email to federal workers demanding weekly updates, warning that failing to respond could be regarded as resignation. This directive raised confusion among many workers who received the email, with some federal agencies advising employees against responding. Currently, a lawsuit from various unions is challenging the legality of potentially firing probationary employees and questions the authority of the Office of Personnel Management, which issued the email, to mandate such actions.
Catch up fast: Over the weekend, at President Trump's prodding to be more aggressive, Musk announced that workers would get an email asking what they'd done in the past week. 'Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,' he said.
On Monday afternoon, President Trump appeared to back Musk's threat - if employees don't respond to that email, 'you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired,' he said, answering reporter questions during an event with French President Emanuel Macron.
The lawsuit challenges the legality of mass firings of probationary workers - those that have been employed in their current roles for only a short time.
The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government's HR office, which sent out the email over the weekend, does not have that authority, the suit alleges.
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