Federal workers across the United States faced confusion on Monday after receiving mixed instructions about complying with an Elon Musk-backed mandate requiring them to report their work activities or face termination.
The confusion began after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email on Saturday demanding that federal employees list five examples of their work over the past week. Employees were asked to respond by the end of Monday, with the threat that failure to comply would be considered a resignation.
However, just two days later, OPM clarified that responses were voluntary, leaving individual agencies to decide how to handle the directive. Despite the clarification, President Donald Trump added to the uncertainty by stating that workers who refused to respond would be “sort of semi-fired” or fully terminated.
Later on Monday evening, Musk reinforced the ultimatum. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he warned that those who did not respond would receive a final opportunity, but failure to comply a second time would result in termination. Musk argued that the demand was simple and claimed that employees who refused to respond were displaying “incompetence” and “contempt” for taxpayers.
Musk, who currently heads the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), said he was acting under President Trump’s instructions. “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” Musk posted.
The directive sparked immediate backlash from federal worker unions and advocacy groups, which have since filed a lawsuit in California to stop the mandate. Some key agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice, and the FBI—now led by Trump appointees—told their employees to disregard the directive, causing further confusion.
An HHS employee who requested anonymity told the BBC, “They’re succeeding in driving us insane,” reflecting the frustration shared by many federal workers receiving contradictory messages from their agencies.
On Monday afternoon, OPM held a call with human resources officials from federal agencies, informing them that it was up to each agency to determine how to proceed. However, the lack of consistent guidance has left many workers uncertain about the future of their employment.
Despite the mixed responses from federal agencies, President Trump defended Musk’s directive, calling it a “genius” move to identify unproductive workers. “If people don’t respond, it’s very possible that there is no such person or they’re not working,” Trump told reporters.
The White House released a statement insisting that all agencies were working together under Trump’s direction. “Any notion to the contrary is completely false,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, without addressing why agencies were issuing conflicting guidance.
Musk, meanwhile, continued to defend the order, criticizing those who failed to comply. “The email request was utterly trivial,” he said, dismissing the pushback and defending the need for greater accountability within the federal workforce.
