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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have till February 6 to choose whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed workers 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 till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: employment Some individuals have been using the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme care. There are no guarantees included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you change your mind, employment the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near need to be the most careful since leaving earlier than meant can have major 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 bargain for individuals who don’t wish to go back to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: employment You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a way, employment 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 is in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no assurances. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They love the mission of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with extremely difficult choices, specifically if they’re remote. I imply, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides 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 obstacles just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, employment to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m uncertain 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 today for OPM to buy agencies to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is really much possibly setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has greatly surpassed 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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