Most of the employees at the Health and Human Services Department have been offered a lump-sum payment of up to $25,000 to quit their job or, if eligible, retire early.

A majority of the 80,000 federal employees responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food and administering Medicare and Medicaid.

Approximately 80,000 employees with the Department of Health and Human Services received an email on Friday offering a “voluntary separation incentive payment” to resign their jobs. NBC News' Erika Edwards reports on questions over who sent the email and if it was a mistake.