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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have 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 referall.us be paid up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, adremcareers.com so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually 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 because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written contract or a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular 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 exercise extreme care. There are no guarantees included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the company’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than planned can have serious effects, 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 an excellent deal for people 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 employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a method, somalibidders.com 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 remains in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes because there are no guarantees. And these are people who like their task. They love the mission of the agency. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with very hard options, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s extremely 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. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal challenges simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I think a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to order firms to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite possibly setting the stage for obstacles because I feel OPM has actually greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights booked. Visit our website terms of use and approvals pages at www.npr.org for more info.

NPR transcripts are developed on a rush due date by an NPR contractor. This text may not remain in its last form and may be upgraded or modified in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The reliable record of NPR’s programs is the audio record.