MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: have till February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 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 allowed to take leave and be paid up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney 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 really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it so much a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using 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 deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that's an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think of a buyout, there's generally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme caution. There are no guarantees consisted of in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the company's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and employment you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful because leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for people who don't desire to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal workers that they have to return in - to work. And if they don't, employment then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is really kindly using to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - 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 truly difficult to resign. I think it's trying to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are people who love their task. They love the mission of the firm. They strive. And right now, they're dealing with really tough choices, especially if they're remote. I imply, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so extraordinary that I believe a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I'm not sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase companies to offer this variety of people administrative leave. So I think it is quite possibly setting the stage for obstacles because I feel OPM has actually greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.
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