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, employment OPM, informed employees 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 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 analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot an offer. I believe it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to use in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: employment If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe caution. There are no guarantees included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, employment the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have serious 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 good deal for individuals who do not wish to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and employment this administration is very kindly providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 created to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They like the mission of the agency. They work hard. And right now, they’re dealing with extremely tough options, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: employment 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 prepare for legal difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to buy firms to give this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is really much possibly setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has actually greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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