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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have till February 6 to choose 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 up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it so much a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for referall.us as much as 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s normally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme caution. There are no guarantees consisted of in this email. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you change your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of employee 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 require to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have severe effects, potentially, on their benefits.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 just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea 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 really generously providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such a way, 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 designed to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are people who enjoy their task. They like the mission of the agency. They strive. And today, they’re facing very hard choices, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s really 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 prepare for legal challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase agencies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially the stage for challenges since I feel OPM has actually vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer 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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