Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to choose whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, job OPM, informed employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be enabled to take leave and be paid up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I believe it's a request to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: job Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I think that's a very misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's typically some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the company's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most careful because leaving earlier than planned can have severe repercussions, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don't wish to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, job and this administration is very generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just - in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal workers are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it's created to get folks who work actually hard to resign. I believe it's attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people's eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who like their job. They like the mission of the firm. They work hard. And right now, they're with really hard options, especially if they're remote. I imply, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who resides in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. otherwise we're going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the phase for difficulties since I feel OPM has vastly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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