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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 allowed to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney who represents federal employees as a large 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 an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to use in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there’s typically some sort of written arrangement or a concrete deal to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe caution. There are no warranties included in this email. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you change your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than meant can have major repercussions, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don’t wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, 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 is in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work really tough to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their task. They like the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re dealing with extremely tough options, especially if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, referall.us if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice 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 sincere, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal 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 believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy companies to give this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite possibly setting the stage for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has significantly 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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