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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified workers 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 depart and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney 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 don’t consider it so much a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: job I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to use in this situation. 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 suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe caution. There are no assurances included in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the company’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone 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 severe consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, job Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not desire to return 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 option to resign, and this administration is extremely generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: job 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, job that it’s created to get folks who work really hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are individuals who like their job. They like the mission of the firm. They strive. And today, they’re dealing with very tough options, especially if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides 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 expect legal difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, job to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase companies to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is really much perhaps setting the stage for challenges since I feel OPM has actually significantly 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for job having me here.

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