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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 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 permitted to take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually 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 as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular 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 exercise extreme caution. There are no assurances included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the company’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: employment Exists some category of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than intended can have major repercussions, employment potentially, on their .MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don’t want to go back to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal workers 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 offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal workers are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work really tough to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people’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 today, they’re dealing with very difficult choices, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, employment on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not conscious of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy companies to offer this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite perhaps setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney 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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