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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have till February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified employees 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 up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it a lot an offer. I believe it’s a request to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s typically some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to provide a benefit in exchange for employment waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme caution. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you alter 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: Is there some classification of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful due to the fact that leaving earlier than planned can have serious consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal staff members 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 to get folks who work really tough to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes because there are no warranties. And these are individuals who love their task. They enjoy the objective of the agency. They work hard. And right now, employment they’re facing extremely tough choices, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, employment it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, employment 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 challenges simply to the deal itself? And employment if so, employment on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, is so unmatched that I believe a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase agencies to offer this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is very much potentially setting the stage for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually vastly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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