A buyout offer sent to federal employees by President Donald Trump's administration encouraging them to resign from their jobs is allegedly not applicable to air traffic controllers, officials say.
One day before a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines commercial jetliner collided in Washington, DC, airspace, the Trump administration sent out correspondence to two million federal employees, encouraging them to leave their jobs using a deferred resignation program through which they could remain on the payroll for eight months, as reported by Fortune.
"The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector," read the memo from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Initially, air traffic controllers and other public safety employees were sent the offer alongside many other federal employees. However, an updated fact sheet published by the OPM revealed that the offer was not applicable to "positions related to public safety and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency".
"The critical positions in regard to safety are not offered that early retirement. We're going to keep all our safety positions in place, no early retirement," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN. "We're all going to stay and work and make sure our skies are safe."
The offer is also inapplicable to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers and positions related to national security and immigration enforcement.
Since the Trump administration assumed office, there have been massive efforts to downsize the number of federal employees working with the government. Some have speculated could have been a part of the reason behind the crash occurring near Ronald Reagan International Airport on January 29, although the investigation remains ongoing.
"It concerns me that there are people who don't want to reform or restructure institutions, they want to destroy institutions," James Hall, who headed the National Transportation Safety Board under former President Bill Clinton, told the Associated Press. "The American people enjoy the safest aviation system in the world. I don't doubt there should be changes in government, but someone should remember the old adage to look before you leap."
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