MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The Trump administration says 75,000 federal employees have accepted its offer - resign now in exchange for pay and benefits through September. Some who made that choice though are being told they're not eligible. NPR's Andrea Hsu spoke with one of them this week.
ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: I met Liz Goggin at her home in Washington, D.C. She's a licensed clinical social worker for the VA, and she's a mom of two young kids who were home because of a snow day.
UNIDENTIFIED TODDLER: [inaudible]
LIZ GOGGIN: OK, Bubba (ph). OK.
HSU: Before the start of her workday, Goggin sat down to share her personal views on everything that's happened over the past few weeks since Trump returned to office. And boy, it's been a lot. First, Trump's funding freeze. It didn't affect her work at the VA, but her husband works in foreign aid.
GOGGIN: It became pretty clear that he was very likely to lose his job.
HSU: Then days later came an e-mail with the subject line, fork in the road.
GOGGIN: I got it late.
HSU: Around 11 p.m. The Trump administration was inviting nearly all federal workers to resign. And those who did it within nine days could stay on the payroll through September.
GOGGIN: My initial reaction, honestly, was kind of fear, like, oh, my gosh, you know, if a lot of people take this, what's going to happen to services...
HSU: ...At the VA and elsewhere. Now, Goggin loves working with veterans. She first came to the VA a decade ago as a postgraduate fellow. Still, being able to resign and keep getting paid through September...
GOGGIN: In the abstract, it did sound like a good offer.
HSU: ...It could be helpful, given her family is about to lose an entire income.
GOGGIN: My husband and I talked about it, and if this offer was legitimate, it seemed like, wow, this could give - you know, I'm a highly competitive worker. There's lots of jobs available. I could potentially be making double salary for six months.
HSU: While her husband regrouped. So that first weekend, she took the fork in the road.
GOGGIN: I did. I hit resign on the e-mail.
HSU: And she got an automated reply saying her response had been received. She e-mailed her supervisor to let her know. But then, a few days later came another e-mail - this one from the VA. Turns out, Liz Goggin isn't eligible to resign.
GOGGIN: Actually, like, social workers are exempt, which didn't surprise me.
HSU: In fact, in this new e-mail, the VA listed dozens and dozens of positions as exempt. So now, she thinks she still has a job.
GOGGIN: But it - like, who knows? I had regrets about telling my supervisor given that, you know, like, the whole thing is kind of unraveling.
HSU: Goggin is also wondering - assuming she still has a job - will she be able to do her job well under Trump? These days, she works with clients of all ages - some Vietnam war vets, others who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. They're of different races, ethnicities and genders.
GOGGIN: At this point, the group I work with, I would say, is majority Black. But yeah, people from all walks of life.
HSU: Now, social workers are bound by a code of ethics. They're supposed to help vulnerable people. They pledge to treat each person with care and respect. Goggin says, as a white clinician working with people of color, she benefits from trainings and discussions around how people of different backgrounds process events in their lives.
GOGGIN: How they're impacted by lived experiences of racism and other forms of oppression.
HSU: But since Trump took office, trainings have been halted. Discussions discouraged. Given Trump's executive actions to end diversity initiatives and to recognize only two sexes - male and female - Goggin isn't sure what's still OK. Whether even support groups where her clients discuss topics like race and gender can continue.
GOGGIN: I don't know what this means for the future, and I do worry about that.
HSU: She says, her clients at the VA, many of them federal employees themselves, are worried, too. Andrea Hsu, NPR News, Washington.
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