Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and President Trump speak during a signing ceremony for a farm bill. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

The Agriculture Department is offering employees a rare choice: accept a forced transfer to a post 1,000 miles away or be fired.

The Trump administration’s plan to move two agencies from the District to the Kansas City area includes a document with two blank boxes on it, sent to employees on June 13. Check one, it instructs: Accept the transfer by July 15 or “be separated by adverse action procedures.”

That means getting fired, with an opportunity to appeal the dismissal through what could be an expensive process. Getting fired could also make it more difficult to find another federal job in an area where the government dominates.

Although a limited number of buyouts and early retirement opportunities will be available for what union officials expect to be fewer than 15 percent of those affected, and while some USDA employees might find work in government positions elsewhere in the […]