US District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr. issued an order Thursday afternoon blocking a buyout ultimatum issued by President Trump to employees of federal agencies shortly before that night’s deadline to accept the offer.

The order stays a deadline set by President Trump for federal employees to decide whether to accept a “deferred resignation” offer in which they would resign their positions in exchange for retaining full pay and benefits through September 30, 2025. The offer issued on January 28 gave employees a week to consider the offer and has been referred to as the “Fork Directive.” Unions challenged the Directive shortly thereafter.

Judge O’Toole granted the temporary restraining order to give workers’ unions an opportunity to reply to defense briefs before the court conducts a hearing to consider the merits of the case later this month. In the meantime, the court ordered the government to inform employees of the deadline being suspended. According to ABC News, some 40,000 employees have already accepted the deal and resigned since last week.

According to the complaint filed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Fork Directive “threatens employees with eventual job loss in the event they refuse to resign.” The complaint criticized the inadequacy of basic information provided to employees in the offer email. The complaint also claimed that the emails failed to clarify the government’s ability to honor the commitment, the effect on employee benefits, the final day of work dates, and when or how adverse action for employees who choose to remain in their positions would occur. The complaint further called the Directive “arbitrary, capricious…and contrary to law.”

The offer letters follow an executive order that aimed at ensuring “accountability” in the federal workforce and criticized “numerous and well-documented cases of career federal employees resisting and undermining the policies and directives of executive leadership.”

The injunction comes after a federal court blocked a Trump administration attempt to end birthright citizenship and follows other lawsuits filed to stop an executive order defunding gender-affirming care and the termination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.