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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have till February 6 to decide whether to willingly 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 enabled to take leave and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal staff members 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 a lot an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is since there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. 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 situation. When you think about a buyout, there’s typically some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to supply 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 inform them is exercise extreme caution. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker 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 mindful since 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 told reporters that this is a bargain for people who do not desire to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea 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 offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal workers 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 developed to get folks who work truly tough to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes because there are no warranties. And referall.us these are who love their task. They love the mission of the firm. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with very tough options, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody 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 anticipate legal obstacles just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase companies to provide this variety of people administrative leave. So I think it is extremely much potentially setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has actually greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work legal representative 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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