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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have until February 6 to choose whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, 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 enabled to take leave and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: referall.us I in fact don’t consider it so much a deal. I believe it’s a demand to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme caution. There are no guarantees consisted of in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than planned can have major repercussions, 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 deal for individuals who do not wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this is very generously providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – 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 truly tough to resign. I believe it’s trying 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 like the mission of the agency. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with very tough choices, specifically if they’re remote. I imply, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. or else we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy companies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is very much potentially setting the stage for obstacles since I feel OPM has greatly surpassed 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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