Federal employees are raising alarms over Elon Musk’s push to reshape the US government, an effort now compounded by a weekend directive for workers to justify their jobs in writing. The mounting pressure has left many in the federal workforce feeling vulnerable.

Latisha Thompson, a clinical social worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Philadelphia, is among those crying foul over a Saturday email from the Office of Personnel Management that instructs workers to submit a list of tasks they performed on the job in the past week.

Thompson called the request “insulting and disrespectful” – not to mention possibly problematic for the privacy of the US veterans she works with in her job.

“I provide direct care to our veterans and there’s a lot of sensitive information about their health conditions that could be a part of what I do every day, and we do not intend on jeopardizing that integrity with this email,” Thompson said.

Musk, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump with reforming the federal government, announced the email was coming in a statement on X. Musk said failing to respond to the email would be “taken as a resignation,” though the email itself made no mention of that.

“Federal workers have no problem sharing what we do with the American public, but we do not respond or work for any individual entities, especially not tech billionaires like Elon Musk,” Thompson told CNN.

Thompson said she plans to follow guidance from her agency and union, the American Federation of Government Employees, on what to do with the email.

A host of major federal agencies, including the Pentagon, Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Department, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Energy, have instructed their staff not to reply to the email, with many pointing to existing agency systems for measuring employee performance.

DOGE hits national parks

Thompson predicts major impacts to the services the US government provides if broader efforts to slash the federal workforce come to fruition. Others across the country are echoing that warning, notably at US national parks.

In Ohio, fresh job cuts on top of a standing hiring freeze at Cuyahoga Valley National Park is squeezing resources ahead of a busy time for visitors, CNN affiliate WEWS reported.

“We’ve chronically underfunded our national parks, and now losing key staff positions at the same time we’re seeing more visitation is a problem locally and across the country,” said Deb Yandala, president and CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a non-profit.

In Arizona, about 10% of US Forest Service workers have been impacted by recent job cuts, according to Matt Nelson, executive director of the non-profit Arizona Trail Association, which partners with federal workers to maintain trails.

“Without those people helping to safeguard these places and care for them, all of us are going to suffer,” Nelson told CNN affiliate KGUN.

CNN reported earlier this month that thousands of US Forest Service jobs are being cut nationwide.

A USDA spokesperson defended cuts in Arizona, describing them as necessary to eliminate wasteful spending.

“We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars,” the spokesperson told KGUN. The agency claimed all terminated positions were probationary, but Nelson disputed that,saying many affected employees were seasoned professionals.