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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 enabled to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a large 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 don’t consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to use in this scenario. When you believe of a buyout, there’s normally some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage 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: employment First thing we inform them is exercise severe care. There are no guarantees consisted of in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have major 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 who don’t wish to go back to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly providing to pay them for employment 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, employment that it’s developed to get folks who work really tough to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes since there are no assurances. And these are people who love their job. They like the mission of the firm. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with very difficult options, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I think a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself may 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 companies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the stage for challenges since I feel OPM has greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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