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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed employees 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 large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it so much a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, potentially, employment you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to explain 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 believe that’s a very deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed agreement 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 guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the company’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there 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 require to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than intended can have severe repercussions, possibly, 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 people who do not wish to go back to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And employment 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 manner, 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 developed to get folks who work truly tough to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes because there are no guarantees. And these are people who love their task. They enjoy the mission of the company. They strive. And today, they’re facing really hard choices, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives in Oregon and has been 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 anticipate legal challenges simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, employment to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I think a great deal of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not conscious of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite potentially setting the phase for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually vastly 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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