Federal Workers Face Second Wave of Task Emails

Federal employees across multiple agencies are receiving a new round of emails demanding detailed accounts of their work from the prior week per recent reports. This follows an initial wave spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aimed at justifying jobs amid sweeping cuts. The move has reignited tensions between DOGE and a workforce already reeling from layoffs and uncertainty.

The first emails sent last month required workers to list five tasks or face termination a rule later softened to voluntary compliance. Less than half responded prompting Musk to call it a pulse check on a bloated bureaucracy. Now this second wave seeks even more specifics raising fears of a broader purge.

Musk a Trump appointee argues the emails expose slackers and ghost employees draining public funds. He cited cases of workers allegedly collecting paychecks without showing up a charge unions fiercely deny. The White House backs the effort framing it as accountability long overdue in government ranks.

Agencies like Defense and Justice previously told staff to ignore the demands due to classified work concerns. This time national security sectors face the same scrutiny with no clear guidance on handling sensitive tasks. Employees report growing stress as they scramble to comply or risk their careers.

Unions slammed the emails as illegal harassment vowing legal action to protect members from what they call Musk’s witch hunt. They argue federal law shields workers from such abrupt oversight by an unelected outsider. DOGE counters that taxpayers deserve proof their money isn’t wasted on do-nothing jobs.

Some workers grudgingly admit the process forces a reckoning with inefficiencies plaguing their offices. Others see it as a power grab by Musk to shrink government regardless of consequences. The second wave has deepened distrust with many fearing it’s a prelude to more firings.

Trump hailed the emails as genius insisting they weed out the lazy while rewarding the diligent. Critics warn the approach risks gutting essential services like air traffic control and veterans’ care. The Office of Personnel Management has yet to clarify how responses will be judged or enforced.

As deadlines loom federal workers brace for a showdown that could reshape their agencies for years. The emails signal DOGE’s unrelenting push to remake government in Musk’s image whatever the cost. Whether this yields efficiency or chaos depends on how far he’s willing to take his controversial campaign.