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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have until February 6 to choose whether to their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed workers on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday – that’s less than a week from now – most will be permitted to take leave and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: employment I really don’t consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with a vague promise that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: employment I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete deal to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no assurances contained in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than planned can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not want to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly using to pay them for employment 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal employees are being jerked around like this. It sends a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work actually hard to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes because there are no warranties. And employment these are people who like their job. They enjoy the mission of the firm. They strive. And right now, they’re facing really hard choices, specifically if they’re remote. I mean, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: employment Do you expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I’m not sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy companies to give this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the stage for obstacles since I feel OPM has actually 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 employment joining us.BERCOVICI: employment Thank you a lot for having me here.

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