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 voluntarily leave 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 workers as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact don’t consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear pledge that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this scenario. When you consider a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout severe caution. There are no assurances included in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you alter 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 classification of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than planned can have major effects, possibly, 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 people who don’t wish to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – 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 really hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They enjoy the mission of the firm. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with really hard options, specifically if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. or else we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal difficulties just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase firms to give this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has significantly exceeded 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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