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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's deferred resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it a lot a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with an unclear guarantee that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is since there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that's a very misleading term to utilize in this scenario. When you think of a buyout, there's usually some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, employment what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the company's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful since leaving earlier than planned can have major effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a great deal for individuals who do not desire to go back to the office. Let me simply 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 don't, then they have the option to resign, 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 method, it breaks my heart that federal staff members 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 trying to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who enjoy their task. They love the objective of the firm. They strive. And today, they're dealing with very tough choices, particularly if they're remote. I indicate, it's extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who lives in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. or else we're going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what ?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I think a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to buy firms to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the phase for obstacles because I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer 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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