Federal workers will not have to decide by the end of the day whether to resign and accept a government payout or remain in their positions and risk being laid off.
A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order on the Trump administration's buyout plan while evaluating its legality.
The proposed buyout affects more than 2 million federal workers across various sectors as the administration seeks to reduce the size of the federal government.
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More than 40,000 employees have already accepted the offer, according to the White House. It estimates that between 5% and 10% of the federal workforce will ultimately accept the offer, potentially saving the government as much as $100 billion.
Unions representing government employees filed the lawsuit as they urged federal workers not to take the buyout, warning that many may not receive payment.
"There is no congressional authorization for this and there's no congressional authorization to pay for people who are not working," said Elaine Kamarck, a government studies fellow at the Brookings Institution.
