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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to choose whether to willingly 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 enabled to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal employees as a big 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 actually do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, referall.us you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a very misleading term to utilize in this scenario. When you believe of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of written contract or a concrete offer to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe caution. There are no warranties included in this email. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious due to the fact that leaving earlier than planned can have severe repercussions, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is an excellent offer for individuals who do not desire to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip 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 really generously 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 out a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work really hard to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are individuals who love their task. They love the objective of the agency. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with very hard options, specifically if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody 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 expect legal obstacles simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy firms to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is really much possibly setting the stage for challenges since I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work legal representative 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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