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 tasks. 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 permitted to depart and be paid up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers 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 really do not consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you might 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 describe what this is since there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s typically some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is care. There are no warranties included in this email. 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 basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: employment Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have severe consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, employment Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a great offer for people who do not wish to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in such a way, 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 is in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work really hard to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are people who like their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they’re facing very hard options, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: employment You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who resides in Oregon and has been told 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 employment legal obstacles just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy companies to offer this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the phase for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has vastly 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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