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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, employment notified 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 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 postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely misleading term to use in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there’s normally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, employment what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: employment Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than planned can have serious effects, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is an excellent offer for individuals who don’t wish to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is really generously offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: employment You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 developed to get folks who work really tough to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes because there are no warranties. And employment these are individuals who enjoy their job. They like the mission of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing really difficult options, specifically if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal difficulties just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to buy companies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much potentially setting the phase for obstacles since I feel OPM has vastly 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 a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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