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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to choose whether to 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 depart and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: referall.us I really do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is since there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely misleading term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there’s usually some sort of written contract or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no warranties consisted of in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you change your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification 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 require to be the most mindful due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have severe consequences, 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 people who do not wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very kindly providing to pay them for 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, that it’s created to get folks who work truly tough to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They enjoy the mission of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with really tough options, especially if they’re remote. I imply, 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 difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not conscious of any authority that exists right now for OPM to order firms to give this variety of people administrative leave. So I think it is quite possibly setting the stage for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually significantly 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 so much for having me here.

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