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 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 up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact 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, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is since there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as 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 a very deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you believe of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed arrangement or somalibidders.com a to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no warranties contained in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of staff member 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 need to be the most careful because leaving earlier than planned can have major consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is an excellent offer for adremcareers.com people who don’t want to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: referall.us This is a recommendation 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 using to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal staff members are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s designed 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 because there are no guarantees. And these are people who love their task. They like the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they’re dealing with extremely difficult options, especially if they’re remote. I mean, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: 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 anticipate legal challenges simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy agencies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite perhaps setting the stage for difficulties because I feel OPM has actually significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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