Some agencies plan to send a second Saturday email to federal workers asking them for bullet points on what they did this week, a sign at least some departments plan to continue with the controversial practice ignited by Elon Musk.
The decision comes after Musk faced pushback last week from some agency heads, who instructed their employees not to respond to a Saturday email from hr@opm.gov, undercutting Musk’s threats that any nonresponse would be considered a resignation.
The move acknowledges that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) itself has little authority over other agencies, which have their own human resources departments and, of course, agency heads who dictate internal policy.
But while several department leaders, like new FBI Director Kash Patel, told their employees not to respond, others informed employees they should go ahead and do so, demonstrating an appetite among other agencies to have their employees send bullet points recapping what they accomplished in the week that just ended.
The Washington Post first reported the plans to have each agency send a follow-up email.
Musk, at the first meeting of President Trump’s Cabinet on Wednesday, defended his email demanding all federal workers report their accomplishments to his office, calling it a “pulse check” and saying anyone with a heartbeat and neurons could complete it.
The directive sparked confusion across government.
OPM on Monday sought to clear the air, telling agency HR leaders that any response to the email was voluntary.
But later that evening it complicated matters further, sending out guidance to human resources leaders saying it was up to agency heads whether to “exclude personnel from this expectation.”
However, other documents previously authored by the personnel agency indicate response to any OPM email is voluntary.
The office was previously sued over the creation of a new email system and its border data collection efforts, a process that forced it to do an after-the-fact privacy assessment.
That document says that response to any email is “explicitly voluntary” but it likewise states “there is a risk individuals will not realize their response is voluntary.”
Having agency heads direct the response would sidestep any legal problems posed by having OPM lead the charge and could force greater compliance.
It’s largely been national security agencies that have instructed employees not to respond.
Alongside Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and DHS leadership all told staff not to respond, while Justice Department leaders informed employees any response was voluntary.
